Chris Warner's most memorable moments
He's been breaking hearts and making waves since his first appearance in Shortland Street's very first episode on May 25th, 1992.
After almost twenty years of drama, we thought Chris Warner had been through it all! That was until he was falsley accused of murder and sent to prison.
Will he ever be the same again?
As Chris tries to adjust to life on the outside, we take
a look back at some of Chris Warner's memorable moments over the
last 20 years.
Then
check out the
photogallery
of Chris through the
years.
Episode one
NZ viewers met dashing Dr Chris Warner when the first episode of
Shortland Street screened on May 25th,
1992.
In the show's first sex scene, Chris was seen in a compromising
position with a married gym instructor played by Suzy
Aitken.
It was just a meaningless fling but it
was later revealed that Warner was married at
the time. His memorable nickname Dr Love was born.
Chris gets locked in the barn on his wedding day
Chris Warner's first real love was the naïve nurse from the
country, Alison Raynor (Danielle Cormack).
They were engaged twice (the first time Alison called it off when
his first wife Melanie returned).
On the eve of their second attempt at marriage (at his stag night),
Chris's drink was spiked by villian Daryl Nielsen (Mark
Ferguson).
The bridegroom-to-be woke on his wedding day to find himself locked
in a barn, clad only in boxer shorts and a Rolex.
Chris missed his wedding and thanks to Darryl, Alison believed he'd
spent the night with another woman. She subsequently
left the country.
Greg gives Chris a drug habit
Every soap opera doctor needs a drug addicition story
and bad-boy Greg Feeney (Tim Balme) was responsible for
Chris's addiction to morphine.
Chris eventually admitted himself to rehab and recovered from his
addiction.
Guy and Chris clash over Meredith
Chris had a sparring relationship with Dr Meredith
Fleming (Stephanie Wilkins) with plenty of on-going sexual
tension.
Their relationship became even more complicated when Meredith had a
one night stand with a handsome stranger, only to discover he was
Chris's brother Guy (Craig Parker).
In the end Meredith had the last laugh - she became a lesbian and
chose neither of the Warner brothers.
Fatal Attraction
Katherine Blake, a fake doctor, became obsessed with Chris, keeping
a shrine to him in her house.
Chris didn't return her feelings and after she was exposed as an
imposter she tried to run Chris over so no one else could have
him.
Chris' second wife and third engagement!
Chris's second wife was Tiffany Pratt (Alison James). Tiffany
was a girl from the wrong side of the tracks who had always wanted
to marry a rich doctor.
Heir to millions, Chris Warner was the perfect prize, but Tiffany
also genuinely fell in love with him and they were
married.
However Chris put his career first and foremost. He accepted
a job in a private clinic in America, promising Tiffany would join
him once he was settled in.
But before she did, Chris had met up with Alison and fallen in love
with her all over again. He divorced Tiffany and finally
married Alison only to cheat on her as well.
The Warner brothers depart Shortland Street
After the tragic death of Nurse Carmen Roberts (Theresa Healey),
Guy Warner was left to raise their baby Tuesday by himself.
When it was discovered that she had a serious brain disease, Chris
offered to take Tuesday and Guy to the U.S where there was a
surgeon who might be able to save her.
It was a sad day in 1996 when the Warner boys departed from our
shores.
Chris's Return
The clinic was gobsmacked (particularly CEO Sophia
Martinez) while the fans were excited when Dr. Chris Warner -
love rat, returned in late 2000 and revealed that he now
owned
Shortland Street clinic.
Rachel unmasks Samara and saves Chris
Samara was really Lily (although not lily-white). She was a
struggling lass who met the real Samara on an O.E.
The real Samara had money and privilege and when she died in an
accident, Lily assumed her identity.
She returned to New Zealand and sought out Chris Warner, who she
knew had money and connections - and who hadn't seen the real
Samara since they were children.
She lied and lied until she coerced Chris into marrying
her.
It wasn't until a suspicious Rachel McKenna (who was in love with
Chris) tracked down her family that she was unmasked, at the altar,
when Mrs Hindmarsh said 'This is not our daughter!'
Chris was devastated, and couldn't help blaming Rachel for the
loss of his happiness.
This story was also memorable for a cat-fight between Rachel and
Samara on the morning of the wedding, with Samara in her wedding
dress.
Chris saves Rachel from Jack
Another earth-shattering Christmas week started with an
attempt on Chris Warner's life by mad Jack Hewitt, a disappointed
suitor of Rachel McKenna.
It failed, but Jack had another trick up his sleeve. He
kidnapped Rachel and tried to stage a creepy mock
wedding.
Would Chris get to Rachel in time? Luckily he did and it was
the beginning of long-term love for
Shortland
Street's golden couple.
They eventually grew apart - after the birth of his son Harry,
Chris wanted to settle down and enjoy being a dad, while Rachel
remained allergic to children.
As their relationship crumbled Rachel, a recovering alcoholic,
turned to the bottle and Chris found comfort with Donna Heka
(Stephanie Tauevihi).
Who is the father of Toni's baby?
Nurse Toni Thompson's party girl reputation was confirmed
for many when she became pregnant - to either Chris or Adam Heywood
(Leighton Cardno).
Interest in the baby's paternity was high especially from Adam's
girlfriend Waverley, and Chris's partner Rachel.
Chris suspected early on that Harry had 'the Warner chin' but it
took a while to confirm that he was in fact the baby's
father.
Patience was never Rachel's forte and in a memorable scene she took
a DNA swab from Chris's mouth while he slept and sent it for
analysis.
It was eventually revealed that Harry was indeed Chris's son, but
by that time he was with Donna.
Chris and Donna
He and Donna were blissfully happy together, forming a
comfortable family unit with Donna's ward Tash and (on a part-time
basis) baby Harry.
Donna also became Harry's godmother.
Chris was happier than he'd ever been until, jealous of the
attention Donna was giving to her old flame Victor Kahu (Calvin
Tuteao), he had a one night stand with Tash's teacher
Carmel.
Later Tash accused an innocent Chris of indecent assault and when
Donna learned he'd slept with Carmel, Chris lost the one person he
thought he could truly rely on.
He was eventually cleared after Tash retracted her statement, but
his relationship with Donna was over for good.
Dominic is Chris' brother - or is he?
Charming Dominic Thompson (Shane Cortese) arrived in
Ferndale in 2003 ostensibly to visit his sister Toni and nephew
Harry.
But his true motivation became clear when he revealed that he was
the half-brother of Chris Warner and heir to some of the Warner
millions - thanks to Sir Bruce Warner (Chris' Dad) having an affair
with Dominic and Toni's mother Ngaire.
It was a cruel blow for Dom when he discovered he wasn't a Warner
after all - his scheming mother Ngaire had misled him. Chris
rejected him, and Dom was determined to take Chris's fortune and
ruin his life.
When Dom's plot was foiled, he kidnapped Chris, strung him up in an
abandoned hunting lodge, and doused the place in petrol, intending
to set them both alight.
Toni arrived with the police in time to rescue Chris - but Dom set
the place ablaze. Horribly charred, he died in Chris'
arms after confessing to the murder of Geoff Greenlaw.
In the aftermath, Chris asked Toni to marry him - and she said
yes!
Chris and Toni get romantic in Fiji
Chris's meaningless affair with nurse Toni Thompson
(Laura Hill) became very significant when Toni fell
pregnant.
Chris and Toni didn't seem destined to be a couple, but did their
best to be good parents to their son Harry.
But when they found themselves working together in Fiji, sparks
flew again between Chris and Toni.
The idea of being together seemed to make perfect sense -
especially with Harry to consider.
At first their holiday romance didn't translate easily to the
reality of life in Ferndale, but when Toni realised she was
pregnant (again) to Chris (again) he proposed - and she said
yes.
They married in a romantic wedding in March 2005.
Chris loses his mojo
Things were going pretty well for Dr Warner, until an eye
problem in 2006 caused him to lose his confidence in the
theatre.
The once supremely confident surgeon lost a patient and began
suffering from serious anxiety attacks.
Luckily, Dr Justine Jones (Lucy Wigmore) arrived on the scene and
was able to help him to restore his confidence.
They embarked on a tempestuous affair. Then Chris had to worry
about whether Justine and her husband Dr Callum McKay (Peter
Mochrie) would reveal his betrayal to Toni.
The return of Guy Warner
Guy Warner returned to Ferndale with his teenage
daughter, Tuesday in 2007.
In the US Guy had become a successful child psychologist and
writer of self-help books, but he had also picked himself up a
nasty drug habit.
By this time, Toni and Chris' marriage had started to
deteriorate and Toni quickly turned to fun-loving Guy for a
distraction.
However, Guy's addiction was increasingly out of control and
Tuesday was often forced to cover for him.
After Toni caught Chris in bed with Rachel McKenna, Guy
convinced her to run away with him, thaking Harry and Tuesday with
them.
They disappeared for six months, leaving Chris Warner
distraught.
Chris was horrified when Tuesday returned to Chris'
house pleading for help and lead him to a derelict farm house
where Toni and Guy were hiding out.
By this time, Guy was becoming paranoid and delusional and stole
the keys to Chris car, escaped with Toni and the kids.
He lost control of the car and it plummeted over a cliff. Chris was
left to deal with the fallout, but was pleased to have his family
home.
The death of Toni Warner
After Toni was serioulsy injured in the car crash caused
by Guy Warner, she and Chris tried very hard to reconcile for the
sake of Harry.
Despite everything, Chris still saw a future with Toni, but before
they could decide upon their future (together or apart?) Toni had a
fatal reaction to dialysis and tragically passed away, leaving
Chris a widower with a young son to look after.
Libby vs Gabrielle
Chris eventually found himself attracted to long time PA
Libby Jeffries . The two became a couple but it wasn't long before
Chris' eye was wandering again.
Chris had been enjoying spending time with brilliant but oddly
behaved surgeon Gabrielle Jacobs.
A trip overseas to Venice on a surgical conference gave him time to
think about which woman he really wanted to be with. He dumped
Libby and asked Gabrielle to move in with him.
They were happy for a time but in March 2010 Gabrielle decided Chris was stifling her and moved to Zurich leaving Chris alone again.
Chris discovers his long lost son
Chris was stunned when his ex-wife Alison's uncle
Bill arrived at Shortland Street mid 2012 and revealed that Alison
had past away a year earlier.
As Chris tried to process the news that his ex-wife was dead, Bill had more shocking news: Alison had a baby after she left Chris and they had a fourteen year old son named Phoenix.
After Alison's death, Phoenix had decided he wanted to get to know his father.
A shocked Chris organised a blood test and when the results came back positive, he moved Phoenix into the family home.
Chris' son Harry wasn't happy having to make room for his new older brother but the boys eventually bonded and they became a family.
Chris and Rachel's dramatic reunion
Chris was surpised when Rachel returned to Ferndale in 2009 on a personal mission to win him back. But Chris was with Gabrielle and refused her advances.
After his relationship with Gabrielle ended, Chris eventually realised that he was still attracted to Rachel but by this time she was in a relationship wtih hospital CEO Callum McKay.
Sparks flew when the two began working closely together and they
could no longer deny their feelings.
At Christmas 2010, Rachel finally decide to break the news to
Callum that she was leaving him - she loved Chris.
The reunited couple met at the run-down apartment block they had planned to renovate, but a fire nearly took their lives.
It was a scorned Callum who arrived and saved both their lives,
injuring himself in the process.
Gabrielle's return
Both Chris and Rachel were taken aback when Gabrielle Jacobs
arrived back from Zurich.
The only woman in living memory to ever dump serial womaniser Chris, Gabrielle was certainly 'the one that got away.'
But Chris was committed to his relationship with Rachel so tried to remain a friend and colleague to Gabrielle.
However Rachel was concerned that he was overly invested in Gabrielle's life, disapproving of her relationships with Shane Tucker and Rachel's own brother Jonathon McKenna.
When Gabrielle had a breakdown after being dumped by Jonathon, Chris helped her get back on track but his support prompted Gabrielle to realise she was still in love with him.
He tried to resist after Gabrielle delcared her love but Chris
eventually gave into those old feelings and slept with Gabrielle in
the 2011 Christmas cliff-hanger.
Chris immediately realised his mistake and desperately tried to
work things out with a heartbroken Rachel.
Chris is falsely accused
Rachel and Chris' relationship was back on track
until a patient named Hayley O'Neill came into their lives.
Hayley developed a fixation with Chris and tried to ingratiate
herself into his life, becoming Phoenix's maths tutor. She tried to
use Phoenix to get closer to him and her manipulative ways helped
to estrange father and son.
Hayley was determined to get her hands on Chris and when he
rejected her once again, she set out to make everyone else believe
they were in a relationship.
An angry and frustrated Chris tried distancing himself from Hayley
and eventually sent her packing back to her abusive ex-boyfriend
Drew.
Chris discovered Hayley was in trouble and went to help her but he
was attacked by Drew who had viciously beaten Hayley.
Drew framed Chris for the attack and when Hayley later died, Chris
was arrested for her murder.
Chris served several months in prison awaiting trial for Hayley's
murder while Rachel had to look after his boys.
After doubting his father's innocence, Phoenix eventually came
around and set about trying to find evidence that proved Drew had
killed Hayley.
His investigations led to a violent showdown with Drew, who
confessed all to the cops.
Chris was eventually cleared of Hayley's murder and has returned
home to his family.
But serving time in prison has changed Chris' outlook on life
and it looks like he may not be able to bounce back to how things
used to be...
Celebrating 20 years of drama on Shortland Street
