TK Samuels
Shortland Street character - TK
Samuels
Dr TK Samuels (Ben Mitchell) arrived in town at the end of an
extensive international backpacking tour.
His journeys left him crumpled and travel worn, but it
was obvious that he'd scrub up very well indeed - a fact
that wasn't lost on the hospital's single women.
First to be smitten by the love bug was Scarlett Valentine.
She found herself face to face with a semi-naked TK who was dossing
in her bedroom. (Huia had invited him to stay in the home she
shared with the Valentines).
Against Huia and Craig's better judgement, TK scored a job in the hospital. Sarah Potts was less than impressed with what she saw, but TK was smitten by the feisty ED Doc.
He proved a steadfast friend throughout Sarah's ups and downs
with Craig and began to harbour fantasies of being the man in
her life, instead of Craig.
This seemed a pipe dream, until Sarah turned to him after her
messy bust-up with Craig.
TK bought the "Nurse's house". His marriage to Sarah culminated in
a dream come true for TK.
TK and Sarah's life was disrupted by the arrival of TK's
challenging teenage nephews Tane and Wiremu.
Finding himself an instant parent to a pair of troublesome (but
loveable) lads was a daily challenge.
Even his relationship to Sarah had to take a backseat as he
dealt with the boys.
Tane's terrible accident brought new challenges for TK and
Sarah.
Unbeknown to TK, Sarah was diagnosed with MS in 2008.
After months of keeping her illness secret, Sarah finally
revealed her condition to TK.
The two decided to start a family and Sarah became pregnant.
But the MS caused a severe spike in Sarah's symptoms and they
terminated the pregnancy.
Sarah's son Daniel came to live with them.
TK struggled to adjust to life with
Brooke Freeman
as his new HOD
in the PCC.
Brooke didn't enjoy the fact that TK's empathy and skills as a GP
cast her in a less than flattering light, so she suggested to CEO
Callum
that TK might
be happier in ED.
The warm hearted GP found himself in the "patch and
dispatch" end of the business.
He tried to help wife Sarah deal with Daniel's delinquency,
leading to many fights between the two.
Daniel returned to Samoa after it became clear his bad behaviour
was causing stress for Sarah.
When the 2009 tsunami saw Daniel return, TK and Sarah found
themselves at odds once more over their decision not to have
children together (due to Sarah's MS.)
At Xmas 09 Sarah decided they should separate.
A devastated TK had his heart broken further when he discovered
she had fled to the arms of his boss,
Maxwell Avia.
TK slept with Brooke Freeman in retaliation.
Brooke played her vulnerable side, which appealed to TK's
sense of morality and he had a relationship with her.
Brooke proved too needy and TK split with her, throwing himself
into helping Sarah set up her private GP clinic.
Sarah moved to Boston.
He had a brief flirty kiss with Tania Jeffries, then moved onto
surgeon Jennifer Maison.
In 2011, he was instantly attracted to new ED nurse Roimata
Ngatai.
It appeared TK had finally found the woman to mend his broken heart
- then Sarah arrived back in Ferndale, pregnant with his
child.
TK asked Roimata to marry him.
Their wedding day was dogged by disaster, with TK going missing when he found out Sarah had gone into labour.
TK was diverted en route to help Sarah (abandoning Roimata) by a car crash on the road, where he rescued the driver Hunter McKay from the wreckage and flames.
Sarah gave birth to their daughter while Roimata fumed.
The two later made amends and they married quietly in the Bay of Islands.
While Sarah went to rehab, TK has been juggling work and fatherhood.
