Chris Warner
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, making him the longest running original character. Galvin quit the show in 1996, but returned to the show four years later when the show underwent a revamp. In total he has been with Shortland Street for 27 of its 31 years.
| Chris Warner | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Shortland Street character | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Michael Galvin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 1992–96, 2000– | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 25 May 1992 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Present; regular | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Caterina De Nave (1992) Simon Bennett (2000) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Affectionately referred to by fans and the media as "Dr Love", Chris made his first appearance in the show's first episode by having an affair with his aerobics instructor. This was an infamous and controversial scene. Portrayed as spoiled and from a wealthy family that inherited the hospital that was founded by his father, the character of Chris was characterised by his patronising and illicit manner, which was contrasted in a 1994 storyline where he became addicted to morphine. Known primarily for romance related storylines, Chris has been married five times and participated in over 20 romances as well as fathering six children. He has held the CEO position several times in 2001, 2004, 2006 to 2008, 2013 and since 2016. Chris was the first member of the Warner family to join the show and he was joined by half brother Guy Warner (Craig Parker). In later years, Chris became the patriarch of a family unit made up of his sons Harry (Reid Walker) and Phoenix (Geordie Holibar). Chris has been involved in several high profile and highly rated story lines; including a 1994 car crash, nearly getting murdered by his brother in law Dominic Thompson (Shane Cortese), losing his wife to his drug-addicted brother Guy, ending up in jail after being framed for murder, surviving cancer and a heart attack, and a controversial abortion storyline.
The character of Chris is constantly noted as a backbone and "key character" of Shortland Street and his storylines have been well received. Galvin has also been praised for his portrayal of Chris. He was nominated for "Best Actor" at the Qantas TV and Film Awards 2008. Several of Chris' romances have also been praised, with both his marriage to Toni Thompson (Laura Hill) and his relationship with Rachel McKenna (Angela Bloomfield), landing the couplings the title of the show's "Golden Couple".