40 MAY 2017
meant the level of recognition was
intense, and the public loved having
local actors they recognised as TV
stars. It was a novelty for about a
week [for the actors] then it was like,
‘How do we cope with this?’ None of
us had experienced being ‘famous’
before. We stuck together for support
and were working incredibly long
hours and doing publicity gigs every
weekend – school fairs, graduations,
petrol station openings!
Luckily most of the actors my age
and older had come from years of
working in the theatre and we knew
how to work hard and
not let the ‘fame’ change
us in any way. We knew
we could be back in the
dole queue any minute
and just revelled in
having a full-time job
for 52 weeks ofthe year.
It was unheard of in
our industry.
My first nurse’s uniform
was a hand-me-down
from Jackie Manu [played
by Nancy Brunning]. I
was five foot eight and she
was five foot two, so it
never fitted right.
I loved Friday mornings
- they were bed scenes on
the Toroa (Carmen and
Guy’s houseboat). I’d
come to work, get back in
my pyjamas and get into bed with the
funniest man in the world.
I only left because no one had talked
to me about staying. My contract was
to end on a certain date and after
two-and-a-half years I had had
enough so I booked a trip overseas.
When the producers found out they
went, ‘NOOO you can’t go,’ and I
said, ‘Whoops, I have organised and
paid for it,’ so they decided to kill her
off on Christmas Eve. It was strange
to be told your character will die, but
it was the best thing for me; it meant I
would not be tempted to come back. I
still meet people who say, ‘I stopped
watching after you died.’
My funeral day was weird – I stayed
at the studio while everyone else went
to the church. When they arrived back
we all left together to go to a garden
party at Government House where we
had been invited to meet the Queen...
the day just kept getting weirder!
Craig was telling funny sad stories of
crying over my coffin with snot
coming out and Dame Cath Tizard
introduced each of our characters
with a brief breakdown to the Queen.
Cath was a real fan. The Queen had
such beautiful skin.
When we started there were very
few other TV drama shows being
made so we got the cream of the crop
of writers, and this continues today.Danielle Cormackplayed Alison
Raynor fromShortland Street’s
inception in 1992 until 1993. Alison
was a shy country girl who was the
object of bad boy Chris Warner’s
(Michael Galvin) affections. Danielle
leftShortland Streetafter a year on
the show to pursue a successful career
abroad and is best known for her
award-winning lead role in hard-
hitting dramaWentworth.
“We were filming for quite some time
beforeShortlandStreetwas first
released, and so it was with great
anticipation that we waited to seeIt was never merely a soap – they love
the characters and care about the
stories, and this shows. They have
more than one finger on the pulse of
what’s happening in our world and
they are not afraid to be controversial
and break new ground. Also our crews
are the best in the world. It wouldn’t
be so successful without them!
I would have carried on being an
actor with or withoutShortland Street
but it made me a household name for
a while and people still recognise me
from it. That can be a bit annoying
considering I have done so much other
work, but I loved working on it and
cannot deny that having that profile
has opened doors. I am still so proud
of the show and the great work
everyone does on it. Long may it last.”how it would be received. Back then
there were only two or three TV
stations so there was a great
expectation around our show. With
great expectation comes great
judgement as well, and I think people
were pretty quick to have an opinion
about the show. There was a huge
heart for it, though, and people bonded
with it quite quickly.
That first year left an indelible etch on
people memories. Over time there have
been lots of characters, but intially there
really only was that core group. I met
someone the other day whose name was
Raynor, named after Alison.
Alison carried two very strong
relationships – one with her flatmates
in the nurse’s house and the other
with Chris Warner. The romantic“Chris was a bit of a tyrant and Alison
was at that time reasonably virtuous.”
Alison and Chris’ romance
made for great drama.