Moira Cochrane | |||||||||||
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Shortland Street character | |||||||||||
Portrayed by | Geraldine Brophy | ||||||||||
Duration | 1997–2001 | ||||||||||
First appearance | 29 May 1997 | ||||||||||
Last appearance | 19 April 2001 | ||||||||||
Introduced by | Simon Bennett | ||||||||||
Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||
Profile | |||||||||||
Other names | Moira Lafferty (maiden name) Moira Crombie (married name) |
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Occupation | Manager of Bed and Breakfast motel (2001—) Receptionist at Shortland Street (1997–2001) |
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Husband |
Earl Crombie (1978–99) Dean Cochrane (2000—) |
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Sons |
Jordan Crombie Blake Crombie Maddy Crombie |
Daughters | Shelley Crombie |
Stepdaughters | Erin Kingston |
Nephews | Eamon Dempsey |
Moira Dawn Cochrane (née Lafferty, previously Crombie) is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street who first appeared in 1997, portrayed by Geraldine Brophy. The character was axed in 2001 as part of a large cast cull and show revamp.
Moira was the matriarch of the Crombie family unit, a working-class family consisting of husband Earl (Murray Keane), sons - Jordan (Cameron Smith), Blake (Jesse Peach) and Maddy (Joseph Greer) and daughter - Shelley (Natalie Dennis). The family often struggled to meet ends meet and ex convict - Moira was the receptionist at Shortland Street for 4 years. Moira's marriage to Earl was often strained and he was rarely home. Following his death from a drink driving accident, Moria ended up marrying past lover and criminal associate - Dean (Greg Johnson), with he and his daughter Erin Kingston (Emma Lahana) joining the family. Another member of the family unit arrived in 2000 in the shape of rapist - Eamon Dempsey (Neill Rea) who nearly put an end to her family once and for all. Moira ended up leaving to run a bed and breakfast with her new husband in early 2001.
Moira was a hugely popular character, singled out by numerous reviewers as a favourite character. Brophy was also acclaimed for her portrayal, landing a nomination for "Best Actress" in the 2000 New Zealand Film and Television Awards.
When offered, Brophy found it hard not to accept the role of Moira, a character she saw as the "everyday New Zealander". She explained the reason stating; "Because we're not very interested in Moiras. Our society's not interested in women who have ordinary jobs and support their families, and so I believe she is very important to be seen." In 2000 Moira was axed from the show alongside 10 other characters. The cause was later revealed as a show revamp which would see the tone more suited towards working class characters.