| Ellen Crozier | |||||||||||||||
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| Shortland Street character | |||||||||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Robyn Malcolm | ||||||||||||||
| Duration | 1994–1999 | ||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 23 February 1994 | ||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 16 November 1999 | ||||||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Tony Holden | ||||||||||||||
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Ellen Rosemary Crozier is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street , who was portrayed by Robyn Malcolm for nearly six years in the mid to late 1990s.
Robyn Malcolm "won" the role of Ellen Crozier during the shows third season in 1994. [1] [2] At the time, the shows primary writers were James Griffin and Rachel Lang and Malcolm remembers the period as not only a highlight of her career, but of Shortland Street in general. [3] Malcolm retained the role for nearly 6 years. [4] Malcolm made her last appearance in November 1999. [5]
Ellen arrived to replace Jaki (Nancy Brunning) with daughter Minnie and husband Johnny (Stelios Yiakmis). However soon after they arrived, the marriage broke up when Johnny strayed. Depressed and alone, Ellen accidentally burnt down the house with a lit cigarette. The arrival of Ellen's sister Carla didn't help when Ellen discovered her sister was a possible psychopath. Ellen dated Bernie Leach (Timothy Bartlett) but ended up returning to Johnny for a short lived affair. Ellen revealed to Minnie that she was a product of rape and she was devastated when Carla tried to murder her after being sectioned. Ellen started to date David Kearney (Peter Elliott) but Ellen misinterpreted the arrival of his wife and fled. The two reunited in Fiji where Ellen confessed she was pregnant.
The two married but the death of their baby Rose (Georgia Bishop) the following year, separated the two and they both had affairs. They finally decided to reunite but David felt obliged to stay with his girlfriend who was dying from cancer. The reconciled when David was diagnosed with a blinding disorder and the two left for an early retirement. Ellen informed Waverley Wilson (Claire Chitham) on the phone, that she and David would not be attending her marriage to David's son Fergus (Paul Ellis).
In 1996, producers decided to have Shortland Street undergo a cot death storyline and the decision was made for the character of Ellen to undergo it. Needing a suitable father character, writers paired Ellen with relatively new character, David Kearney (Peter Elliott). [6] Ellen and David had been dating for several months but the arrival of his ex-wife Isobel Kearney (Jennifer Ward-Lealand) lead to Ellen thinking the two had reconciled, causing her to flee to Fiji. In a specially shot episode in the country, David tracked her down and the two reconciled, only for Ellen to announce she was pregnant. [7] The couple decided to marry to support the child and lured their friends to the ceremony under the pretense that it was Grace Kwan's (Lyentte Forday) birthday. [8] Producers encountered a problem when developing the storyline, when they realized they had accidentally over run Ellen's pregnancy. A quick fill in story was devised where Ellen was nervous that the baby was so late. [9] In the casting of Ellen and David's child, the daughter of the show's medical adviser was chosen. [6] Having set the storyline up to unfold in 1998, crew members began to get cold feet due to the uneasiness of shooting the scene using one of their co workers own children and the fact that two of the storyliners had fallen pregnant. [6] On screen, Ellen had an unscheduled birth, giving birth to Rose Crozier-Kearney (Georgia Bishop) in her bathroom, but help arrived in the form of Caroline Buxton (Tandi Wright) just in time. [10] Due to the tenderness of the storyline, it was continuously pushed back until the stage where it was nearing the point of improbability. The plot was ultimately scheduled to air in the last possible week with the potential of cot death to occur. [6] In February 1998, Ellen was shocked to discover her baby daughter Rose, had died in her sleep. [6] [8] [10] [11] The scene was shot with the baby's actress but Malcolm was directed to quickly pick her up and then the shot was changed to a close up, to avoid any movements from the child. [6] The couple's devastation at Rose's death saw them break up and date other characters. However, over a year later they finally put Rose to rest and reconciled. [10] The storyline landed Malcolm with her first ever television acting nomination. [6] The subject of a child's death was dealt with twice more in the soap, 5 years later in the death of Te Ngakau Hudson, [11] and 10 years later with the death of Kelly Piper. [12]
The character of Ellen received a hugely favorable reception and is often looked back on by reviewers with a positive view. [2] [4] [13] [14] Ellen's pairing with David Kearney (Peter Elliott) proved to be hugely popular and by the mid nineties, the family unit based around the character was the most integral and high-profile set of characters in the soap. [10] [15] The role of Ellen was said to have made Malcolm a household name in New Zealand [16] and though entirely different than her role of Cheryl West in Outrageous Fortune , was believed to be a paving stone. [17] The show's main writers throughout the mid nineties, James Griffin and Rachel Lang (future creators of Outrageous Fortune), gave Ellen the nickname "slut in a cardigan". [3] The cot death of Ellen's daughter Rose turned out to be a widely well received storyline and is remembered as one of the most iconic to feature on the soap. [6] [10] From the cot death storyline, Malcolm went on to be nominated for "Best Actress" in the 1998 TV Guide Best on the Box Awards. [2] [4] [6] In 2000, a reviewer for The New Zealand Herald criticized the show and called for the return of Ellen, a character she actually cared about. [18] The departure of Ellen amongst several other core characters, saw a fall in the ratings for the soap and several measures were made to fix this, such as the reintroduction of Chris Warner (Michael Galvin). [19] In 2017 New Zealand Herald columnist Ricardo Simich expressed his desire for Ellen to return for the soap opera's 25th anniversary saying it would be remiss not celebrate Malcolm's success. [20] That same year stuff.co.nz journalist Fleur Mealing named Ellen as the 3rd character she most wanted to return for the show's 25th anniversary, citing the need to celebrate where Malcolm started her career. [21]
Christopher Alexander Warner is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street who has been portrayed by Michael Galvin since the show's first episode. Other than a 4-year gap as a result of Galvin's resignation in 1996, Chris has appeared near-continuously making him the longest running character on the show.
Guy Warner is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street who was portrayed by Craig Parker in a guest role in 1992 before returning as core cast from 1993 to 1996. Guy returned for the shows 15th anniversary in May 2007 and again from December 2007 to April 2008.
Antoinette "Toni" Warner is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street who was portrayed by Laura Hill from 2001 until 2008.
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 late 1999, before returning in early 2001 and departing in early 2003. She returned in a guest role in mid-2007 and again in a full-time role in late 2009 before departing once again in late 2016.
Nicholas John Harrison is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street who was portrayed by Karl Burnett from the show's second episode in 1992 to 2005, making him the original character to stay with the show the longest in one stint. The character, along with wife Waverley, returned for the show's 25th anniversary that aired on 25 May 2017.
Marjorie "Marj" Brasch is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street. Being part of the original cast, she was portrayed by Elizabeth McRae from the show's first season in 1992 up until 1996. She returned as a guest character in 1998, 2002, as part of the show's 20th anniversary in May 2012 and again for the show's 25th anniversary in 2017.
Jessica "Jay" Copeland is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street who was portrayed by Jaime Passier-Armstrong from mid-2004 to mid-2007. She was the show's first lesbian regular character and longtime love interest for Maia Jeffries.
Waverley "Wave" Harrison is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street. She was portrayed by Claire Chitham and was introduced as a love interest for Nick Harrison who she eventually married eight years after her arrival to the show. The character returned along with husband Nick for the show's 25th anniversary episode that aired on 25 May 2017. Waverley also returned with Lucas and three of her and Nick's children for the 2022 finale.
Roimata Ngatai is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street, who was portrayed by Shavaughn Ruakere from January 2011 to January 2014. Initially introduced as a 3-month love interest for TK Samuels, Ruakere's contract was extended to a regular role.
Carla Summerfield is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street, who was portrayed by Elisabeth Easther from early 1995 to mid 1996. The character debuted as the sister of established character Ellen Crozier and gained notoriety as the show's first ever on screen murderer.
Caroline Buxton is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street, who was portrayed by Tandi Wright from late 1995 to early 2000.
David Fergus2 Kearney3 is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street who was portrayed by Paul Ellis for numerous recurring stints from 1995 to 1999 before becoming a regular character until 2001. The character returned briefly in 2002.
Te Rangitahi "Rangi" Heremaia is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street who was portrayed by Blair Strang from 1995 to 2001 and again in a cameo in 2022.
Dr. Grace Kwan is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street, portrayed by Lynette Forday from 1994 to 1997. Forday reprised the role 16 years later in 2013.
Minnie Crozier is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street, who was portrayed by Katrina Devine from her first appearance in 1994 as part of the Crozier family unit until 2001 when the character was axed as part of a large cast overhaul.
Dr. David Kearney is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street, who was portrayed by Peter Elliott from early 1996 to late 1999 and for a guest appearances in 2020 and 2022, where he returned for the show's 30th anniversary.
Donna Heka is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street, who was portrayed by Stephanie Tauevihi from 1997 to mid-2004 and again for a two episode stint in December 2004.
Oscar Henry is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street played by Christopher Brown from 1998 to 1999.
Kane Jenkins is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street. He was portrayed by KJ Apa from late-2013 to mid-2015. The character was introduced as part of the extended Cooper family unit and as a means to depict teenage suicide.