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Rachel McKenna

Rachel McKenna
Rachel McKenna.jpg
Shortland Street character
Portrayed by Angela Bloomfield
Duration 1993–99, 2001–03, 2007, 2009–16
First appearance 15 January 1993
Last appearance 6 October 2016
Introduced by Brian Lenanne (1993)
Lisa Page (2001)
Jason Daniel (2007)
Steven Zanoski (2009)
Book appearances Nick's Story – Shortland Street Books (1996)
Classification Former; regular
Profile
Occupation Chief Executive Officer of Shortland Street Hospital (2012–13, 2014–16)
Co-owner and founder of McKenna House (2014–)
Ferndale district health board representative (2004–10, 2011–12, 2013–14)
Administration Manager of Shortland Street A&E clinic (1998–99, 2001–03)
Manager of "R Bar" (1996–98)

Rachel McKenna is a fictional character from the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street, played by Angela Bloomfield and who made her first appearance in early 1993. Bloomfield left the role in 1999, before returning in 2001 and departing in 2003. She returned in a guest role in 2007 and again in a full-time role in 2009 before departing once again in 2016.

Arriving as part of the McKenna family unit, Rachel debuted in early 1993 alongside her mother Alex (Liddy Holloway), the estranged wife of hospital CEO Michael McKenna (Paul Gittins). The family were later joined by Rachel's homosexual brother Jonathon (Kieren Hutchison). Originally a love interest for "heart throb" Stuart Neilson (Martin Henderson), Rachel would go through numerous boyfriends and four husbands including a "will they, won't they?" romance with Chris Warner (Michael Galvin), spanning more than 15 years. She was known for her covering of "ethical issues" such as storylines that featured bulimia, near death experiences, alcoholism, student loan protests, child abuse and being hit by lightning. Her friendship with Nick Harrison (Karl Burnett) spanned numerous years, saw the two become an iconic coupling and even become briefly married during a protest about student allowances.

The character is one of the shows longest running characters and has been labelled hugely iconic. Many of her story lines have been praised, such as her relationships and "ethical storylines". Bloomfield has been celebrated for her portrayal, winning several awards including "Best Actress" and "Sexiest Female" in TV Guide reader polls.

To widen demographic audiences, producers ensured Shortland Street featured family units so that several key characteristics could be met (middle aged parents, teenage children). In mid-1992 it was decided to expand on the established character, Michael McKenna (Paul Gittins) (who had appeared since the show's first episode), by introducing his family. The soap's key demographic was teenage girls and as such, a 16-year-old daughter was created in the form of Rachel McKenna. She was given instant romance connections by being penned as a love interest for established "heart throb", Stuart Neilson (Martin Henderson).Angela Bloomfield won the role in August 1992 and did not realise the significance of the show nor the character until much later. She was signed to an initial 5-week contract. Rachel's first scenes involved her leaving the shower in just a towel, an experience Bloomfield described as, "terrifying". Bloomfield believed the role took over her life and that she, "used Rachel to become capable of having a huge argument with partner or parents. After a couple of years I decided I wasnt being true to myself." The storyline where Rachel became an alcoholic proved too heavy for Bloomfield, and to relax following such intense scenes, Bloomfield performed meditation with co-star, Robyn Malcolm (Nurse Ellen Crozier). By the late nineties, Bloomfield had grown sick of the role and quit. The character made her last appearance on 23 September 1999. Rachel was written off in a storyline that saw her leave the country, purposely done in case Bloomfield wished to reprise the role at a later date.


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Wikipedia

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