Josh Gallagher (Shortland Street)

Josh Gallagher
Shortland Street character
Portrayed by	Chris Tempest
Duration	2012–14
First appearance	21 May 2012
Last appearance	13 January 2014
Introduced by	Steven Zanoski
Classification	Former; regular
Profile
Occupation	Emergency Department consultant at Shortland Street Hospital (2012–13)
Home	The Flat

Dr. Josh Gallagher is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street who was portrayed by Chris Tempest between May 2012 and January 2014.

Following the resignation of Robbie Magasiva as the character of Maxwell Avia, writers felt an absence in the Emergency Department set of the soap opera and it was decided that a new doctor would be created. The character of Josh was created, an adrenalin junkie drawn to ED due to its fast paced performance. Storylines decided to characterize Josh as a mysterious character, working with the idea that his parents were naturopaths. It was decided that Josh would debut in the shows 20th anniversary and as such, a dramatic stunt was planned so as to demonstrate the characters key elements such as efficiency under pressure. 5 actors got callbacks for the part of Josh, with Chris Tempest eventually securing the role. British Tempest was familiar with the show through daytime television as a teenager but was unaware as to its impact in New Zealand, "It doesn't even feel real to be honest. Especially coming over here and seeing how much Shortland Street is part of the Kiwi culture and how high a regard people hold it. It hasn't settled in yet." Tempest believed that this turn was "awfully ironic". Tempest filmed his final scenes as Josh in November 2013, in a storyline that saw Josh die in the annual Christmas cliffhanger. Although most characters final scenes were filmed out of chronological order, Tempest was allowed to film his characters death as his final scene; something which he thought was a satisfying conclusion.

Josh arrived to Ferndale for a job interview with Maxwell Avia (Robbie Magasiva) in May 2012, but was instead thrust into a dramatic helicopter crash, rescuing the crushed Bella Cooper (Amelia Reid). Subsequently, Josh landed a job in the hospital's Emergency Department only to clash majorly with TK Samuels (Benjamin Mitchell). Josh appeared withdrawn and it was soon discovered his fiancé had died from a drug overdose in England. Eventually, he began to date Paige Munroe (Rachel Foreman) but the two broke up and Josh began to date Lana Jacobs (Brooke Williams). However, following his support of Roimata Samuels (Shavaughn Ruakere) after her devastating sexual assault, Lana realized he had fallen in love with her and he subsequently came under suspicion for the attack. Much to TK and the staff's shock, Josh and Roimata began a short lived affair that isolated the two from their friends. Josh began to associate with Harper's (Ria Vandervis) dodgy mate Neil Hesketh (Erroll Shand), who forced him to smuggle drugs out of the hospital. Josh eventually ratted out the gang and saved Bella from the murderous Neil, resulting in the two ending up in a relationship. The praise saw Josh start to purposefully make patients sick so that he could heal them to applause, climaxing when he poisoned Bella's mother Wendy (Jacqueline Nairn) and electrocuted Nicole's (Sally Martin) girlfriend, Bonnie Deane (Steph Cusick). Roimata, Harper, and TK soon realized what Josh was doing and had him arrested. He was released however and devastatingly exploded a bomb at the staff Christmas function so as to save the victims. Whilst trying to save the life of Roimata, Josh was crushed underneath a large piece of rubble and died after telling a horrified Bella that he loved her.

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Wikipedia