Sef Kruse was Vinnie's womanizing cousin. Sef briefly visited Vinnie in early 2004 before he was hired late in the year as a temporary replacement for Waverley Wilson on reception whilst she was on maternity leave. Sef was often seen accompanying Vinnie on nights out on the town and the two would often try to pull women with disastrous consequences. Sef was last seen in March 2005 when he and Vinnie tried to attract Tania Jeffries.
Jim Matheson
Jim Matheson was hired partway through 2004 by Tama Hudson and his girlfriend Shannon Te Ngaru to help out at the hospital cafeteria. In his spare time, Jim was an inventor, inventing odd knick-knacks, hoping to get them picked up to make a living. Upon his arrival to Shortland Street, Jim forged friendships with Sticky and Barb Heywood. However, Jim's darker side became apparent after being turned down for funding for his inventions. Coming home one night drunk and angry, Jim would rape Barb in her apartment. After being thrown out, it wasn't long before Barb revealed her rape to friend Judy Brownlee along with Sticky who would convince her to report Jim to the police. After getting into a fistfight with the usually timid and docile Sticky, Shannon would change her opinion after initially defending Jim and suspended Jim from his job. Not long after attempting to intimidate Shannon and being interrupted by Vinnie Kruse, Jim would be arrested and eventually plead guilty to rape. He would never be seen again.
Siobhan O'Leary
Siobhan O'Leary arrived in mid-2004 as the new nanny for Harry, hired by his father Chris Warner. Chris was uneasy about Siobhan's attractiveness and she initially clashed with Harry's mother, Toni. The two soon became friends and it was not long before Chris and Siobhan began sleeping with each other. However Chris fell in love with Lucy Swinton and ended up dumping her. The following day Chris discovered a note from Siobhan, stating she had fled Ferndale. Siobhan Marshall auditioned for the role shortly after graduating and thought the fact that the character shared her name was destiny. She won the role and retained it for several weeks, however she struggled with the recognition on the streets, including an incident where the character was a called a "slut".
Dr. Craig Valentine was the old school friend of Chris Warner. He quickly became the head of ED at the hospital and clashed with many due to his fiery and at times, moody, personality. He was portrayed Renato Bartolomei until 2008.
Tina-Anne Trinity Harrison was the daughter of Nick and Waverley Harrison, who was born on the shows 3000th episode. Nick nearly missed her birth but arrived just in time. She was named after Anne Kahu, whilst Judy Brownlee was named as her godmother and Sticky and Eltham Wilson her godfathers. Eltham saved Tina-Anne and her brother Lucas from a fire at their home in 2004. She departed alongside her family in March 2005.
Jessica "Jay" Copeland was the estranged daughter of Victor Kahu. She arrived in mid-2004 with her traveling partner – Maia Jeffries. However it soon became obvious the two were really lovers. Jay was portrayed by Jaime Passier-Armstrong until 2007.
Maia Anne Jeffries was the lesbian girlfriend of Jay Copeland. However Maia soon outlasted Jay and became an iconic character on the show, being involved in several high profile stories including the 2009 storyline where Maia confessed to having killed a man. She was portrayed by Anna Jullienne until 2011 and again in May 2012.
Eltham Wilson
Eltham Wilson was the badboy cousin of Waverley Harrison. He arrived in August 2004 when Waverley named him as the godmother to her daughter Tina-Anne. He instantly got on the bad side of Waverley's husband Nick Harrison and Maia Jeffries. He soon fell head over heels in love with Maia but discovered she was a lesbian. Eltham began to work at the bar but Nick was horrified to discover that Eltham was dealing drugs from behind the counter. He also accidentally set the bar alight but was hailed a hero when he rescued Waverley and Nick's children – Lucas and Tina-Anne, from the blaze. In November he accepted a job offer in Taranaki and departed after a kiss from Maia.
Malcolm Grieg
Malcolm Grieg made a guest appearance over 2 episodes in August 2004. The DHB made the controversial decision to hire the elderly Malcolm as the new CEO after Chris Warner was relieved of his position of CEO following the DHB becoming aware of his knowledge of the euthanasia Dr Geoff Greenlaw carried out on a patient. However Malcolm proved hugely ill prepared for the job and much of the staff believed he had died 3 years beforehand. Malcolm collapsed at his desk due to respiratory failure and after narrowly surviving, did not return to his role.
Dr. Andrew Solomon made his first appearance in mid-2004 as the new CEO of the hospital. Andrew's no nonsense attitude caused him to clash with the staff but many saw his lighter side when he began to date Sarah Potts and when his teenage sister Claire arrived. A roadblock appeared in the return of Andrew's ex lover Robyn Stokes who orchestrated a hit and run to win Andrew back, nearly killing him in the process. She revealed they had an illegitimate son who had died and used Andrew's confused state to sleep with him. Andrew and Sarah wed but Robyn returned and revealed she was pregnant with twins. Sarah and Andrew broke up and he eventually moved to England with Robyn and got a job as a doctor in the countryside. Claire informed Sarah on 21 March 2006 that the babies had been born. In 2007 Chris Warner rang him to inform him of Claire's murder. Rotondo was openly critical of the character and the show itself, labelling Andrew as the "most boring character in Shortland Street."
Talafao Kruse
Talafao Kruse was the staunch businessman uncle of Vinnie Kruse. He arrived with his daughter Taliain September and was unimpressed by Vinnie's girlfriend Shannon.
Talia Kruse
Talia Kruse was the cousin of Vinnie who visited Ferndale alongside her father Talafao Kruse and was unimpressed by Vinnie's girlfriend Shannon. Talia decided to stay longer in Ferndale and started to date Tama Hudson. However the two broke up and Talia returned to Samoa.
Sarah Potts
Dr. Sarah Marjorie Potts was the potential love interest of Craig Valentine who it soon revealed had an illegitimate son – Daniel Potts, who was raised as her brother. She was portrayed by Amanda Billing and has gone down as an iconic character with her multiple sclerosis storyline seeing praise.
Dr. Mark Weston first appeared in an episode set in Fiji. He worked in a clinic there when Chris Warner and Toni McAllister visited but it was not long before he landed a job at Shortland Street. He was instantly attracted to Maia Jeffries and saved her life when his psychopathic friend Hugo Carmont tried to kill her in exchange for Mark's romance. Mark began to date Maia's sister Tania but he cheated on her with school girl Claire Solomon which ended the relationship. Mark had a near romance with Toni but reconciled with Tania but when he discovered an addiction to sex when online dating, Tania forced him to seek help. The two married in 2007 but Mark's love for Maia took over and he donated sperm to her behind Tania's back. Mark also landed himself as a lead suspect in several murders that took place. The stress got to him and he cheated on Tania with Meg Harris at his birthday party before he confessed the truth about his and Maia's child to the Jeffries family. Isolated and wifeless, Mark departed Ferndale for Australia. With the marriage annulled it was later revealed Mark had remarried and had a child.
Morgan Potts was the father of Sarah Potts. He and his wife Pam had raised Sarah's illegitimate son Daniel as their own and arrived in 2004 to let him visit Sarah. The truth soon came out however and Daniel went to live with Sarah. In 2005 Morgan and Pam attended Sarah's wedding to Andrew Solomon. The couple returned in 2007 when they met Sarah's new fiance TK Samuels. The couple left at odds with TK when Morgan continuously forgot his name. In 2011 Sarah announced that her parents were living in the Bay of Islands and would not be visiting for the birth of her daughter. In 2012 the couple talked to Daniel and Sarah on Skype. Morgan and Pam returned to Ferndale offscreen in 2014 to attend Sarah's funeral. The couple managed to convince TK to have Sarah's ceremony in a conventional church rather than the Samuels home marae.
Daniel Potts
Daniel Joshua Potts was the illegitimate child of Sarah Potts. He was raised as her brother but when he discovered the truth, came to resent Sarah. He was portrayed by Jarred Blakiston in recurring stints until 2005 and again in 2007. The role was recast in 2009 with Ido Drent taking on the character in a regular role.
Pam Potts
Pam Potts was the controlling mother of Sarah Potts. She and her husband Morgan dropped Sarah's son Daniel to Sarah's. Pam was disgusted when Sarah planned to reveal she was his mother and not his sister. Pam tried to keep Daniel but he insisted on being taken in by Sarah. In 2005 Pam returned with Morgan for Sarah's wedding to Andrew and expressed joy at the coupling. However, in 2007 when Pam met Sarah's new fiance TK Samuels, she was constantly at odds at him when Sarah rebuffed her confrontational behaviour. In 2011 Sarah announced that her parents were living in the Bay of Islands and would not be visiting for the birth of her daughter. Pam suggested the name of Matilda which was eventually chosen. In 2012 the couple talked to Daniel and Sarah on Skype. Morgan and Pam returned to Ferndale offscreen in 2014 to attend Sarah's funeral. The couple managed to convince TK to have Sarah's ceremony in a conventional church rather than the Samuels home marae.
Yvonne Jeffries was the interfering mother of Maia Jeffries. The character arrived in a guest role in 2004, before becoming the hospital receptionist in 2005. She participated in numerous high profile storylines, the most prominent of which was her relationship with daughter Tania's ex-boyfriend – Ben Goodall. She was portrayed by Alison Quigan until 2011 and again in May 2012.
Ian Jeffries
Ian Jeffries was the husband of Yvonne. The two arrived in November 2004 and an increasingly frail Ian was diagnosed with motor neuron disease. The couple returned the following year and Ian was re-diagnosed with Kennedy's disease. Ian was a lot more accepting of daughter Maia, when she revealed she was gay than Yvonne and he grew to appreciate Maia's girlfriend Jay. Ian was sent away to rehab but when he returned Yvonne suspected he was cheating. After Maia's wedding he confessed his love and that he would never cheat and the two reconciled. Days later Yvonne found Ian's body off the side of a cliff, he had killed himself due to his deteriorating illness.
Claire Solomon
Claire Simone Solomon made her first appearance on Christmas Day 2004. Claire was the troublesome teenage sister of hospital CEO, Andrew Solomon and quickly became a fan favourite. Claire arrived unexpectedly back into Andrew's life in late 2004 after spending 8 years in the United Kingdom. Claire scandalously briefly dated older man, Maestro before over dosing on stolen morphine. She began to date Jake Valentine before accidentally running someone over in her car lead to her controlling her bad-girl ways, including 100 hours of community service. However Claire left Jake for an affair with much older doctor, Mark Weston and much of the hospital staff rallied against her. Claire found a new lease for life in dating religious fanatic, Baxter Cormack. The two became engaged but he ended up dumping her for religion. Claire scandalously had an affair with flat mate Kieran Mitchell whilst he was dating Libby Jeffries before she had a brief fling with Joey Henderson. In July 2007, Claire's naked body was found in a hospital dumpster and it was clear she had been murdered. For sometime after while the identity of Claire's killer remained unknown Kieran began to have nightmares about Claire's death and, due to his short memory, suspected he may have killed her without remembering it. In December it was revealed she, alongside 4 other women, had been murdered by Joey Henderson.
