Toni Thompson
| Toni Warner | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Shortland Street character | |||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Laura Hill | ||||||||||
| Duration | 2001–08 | ||||||||||
| First appearance | 5 March 2001 | ||||||||||
| Last appearance | 12 June 2008 | ||||||||||
| Created by | Jason Daniel | ||||||||||
| Introduced by | Simon Bennett | ||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||
| Occupation | Nurse | ||||||||||
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| Father | Anthony Thompson |
|---|---|
| Mother | Ngaire Thompson |
| Brothers | Dominic Thompson |
| Husband |
Matt McAllister (2003–05) Chris Warner (2005–08) |
| Sons |
Harry Warner James Warner |
Antoinette "Toni" Warner (née Thompson, formerly McAllister) is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street who was portrayed by Laura Hill from 2001 until 2008.
In 2008, Toni became the first character on the show to give birth, get married and die on screen.
Following the departures of Rachel McKenna (Angela Bloomfield), Ellen Crozier (Robyn Malcolm), Kirsty Knight (Angela Dotchin), and the axing of David Kearney (Peter Elliott), in 1998 and 1999, ratings for the show dropped dramatically in 2000 and producers decided to reinvent the show to boost audience interest.Jason Daniel was hired as a consultant to drastically alter the show, making it more representative of the social climate of the time. This included eliminating several characters, redesigning the hospital, toning down make up and clothing choices, and introducing a new cast. One of the characters created by Daniel was 'Melanie Thompson', who would be renamed 'Toni' by her debut in early 2001. Laura Hill was cast in the role. Toni was the first of the new cast to appear.
In 2007, Hill took 6 months leave to appear in a play in Christchurch. However Toni's exit on screen was left ambiguous so as to appear she may have left permanently. Hill published an open letter assuring her fans that this was not the case and pressed her imminent return. Hill returned to the show in late 2007 but acknowledged that, "they weren't going to have too many options with the character". Instead of using the show as a "net" and under the desire to expand her acting resume, Hill quit the show. She cited health reasons under her resignation and stated, "Shortland Street’s been a big part of my professional life and a time of enormous change and growth for me. That has been great and, although I was ready to leave, it still was a passing of an era." The character was killed off in June 2008 after coming down with norovirus.
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