Hunter McKay
Shortland Street character - Hunter McKay
Hunter McKay is the son of Justine Jones and
Callum McKay .
Initially, Hunter was devastated by the news that his parents
decided to stay in New Zealand and he longed to return to Sydney to
continue his modeling career.
However he wasted no time in enjoying a summer fling with
Scarlett Valentine, before he moved on to her close friend
Amber.
Things came to a head when Scarlett rammed her father's car
straight into Hunter. The incident brought Hunter a new
maturity.
In mid-2007, Hunter became smitten with 30-something
Tess. The pair embarked on a steamy and secret affair.
Hunter was devastated when it ended.
In order to make ends meet, Hunter embarked on a somewhat
dodgy scheme selling nutritional supplements.
Financial necessities then saw him take a job at the IV Bar.
Hunter landed a big modelling job with international model,
Anja Sadavenko, but when he saw how the modelling industry
operated, he turned his back on this career aspiration.
In late 2008, Hunter caught the eye of nurse
Morgan Braithwaite.
The chemistry between the two was undeniable, despite Morgan's
relationship with the asexual
Gerald .
Hunter's home life was turned upside down when his mother, Justine
Jones, was forced to fake her own death and leave New Zealand to
live under witness protection in Australia.
Hunter and Morgan's relationship unravelled over Morgan's spending
habits.
Hunter enrolled in pre-med. He was briefly interested in
another older woman,
Brooke Freeman
.
But Brooke had her sights set higher, on Hunter's
father.
Hunter was looking forward to his family being together again, when
Justine returned to Ferndale. Sadly his parents decided to go their
separate ways.
Hunter's rift with Callum grew over Callum's relationship with
Brooke.
Hunter started spending a lot more time at el Rancho with
casual girlfriend Aroha.
Aroha left to sing on a cruise ship.
Hunter focussed on trying to bust up his sister's relationship
with
Kieran Mitchell
, but was
unsuccessful.
In early 2010 he set his sights on nurse
Tracey Morrison.
Their relationship was shortlived.
In March 2010 Hunter got stabbed in the arm with a used
syringe.
After an agonising wait, he found out he was not infected
with HIV.
In June 2010 he and ambo mate Ben Goodall were involved in a
scuffle over a car and Hunter was stabbed (again) with a
knife.
Ben was fatally injured in the fight and died.
Hunter moved into a flat with his ex med school mate Brodie and
hospital orderly Penny Rourke.
He had a brief romance with Penny until he discovered that she was
trying to kill Scotty (a twisted vendetta to avenge her own
father's death).
Hunter continued to work hard, juggling med school with ambulance
shifts.
In 2011, he embarked on a relationship with nurse Jill
Kingsbury.
He gained a place at Shortland Street for his surgical residency,
but found himself up against ambitious go-getter Paige.
In order to keep up with the demanding pace, he resorted to using
ADHD medication to stay focussed and alert.
Mid July he discovered that his dad Callum and (then ex) girlfriend
Jill were together. In a rage, he drove his car from TK and
Roimata's wedding and crashed it.
Recovering from the accident and in pain, he demanded stronger
drugs from the doctors.
Hunter's addiction escalated and he starting using speed to help him study when he couldn't get access to ADHD pills.
Evan Cooper worked out Hunter's addiction to ADHD medication and exposed him to his flatmate Daniel Potts.
Hunter lied to Daniel that he was going to rehab when he actually went to Dunedin for a med school placement.
Hunter returned from Dunedin with a methamphetamine addiction and he started resorting to stealing and lying to his family and friends.
His erratic behaviour drew suspicion and Jill eventually worked
out that Hunter had a serious drug problem.
But before she could help, Hunter had disappeared with his
drug-dealing mate Bailey who convinced Hunter to help him rob a
pharmacy.
The botched pharmacy robbery was the heart-wrenching climax of the
2011 Christmas cliffhanger, which saw Jill fatally injured and
Daniel Potts suffer a serious head injury.
A guilty Hunter had to face up to his crimes and he was released on
bail to attend rehab.
