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Frank Warner (Shortland Street)

Frank Warner
Frank Warner.jpg
Shortland Street character
Portrayed by Unredited actor (1993)
Luke Patrick (2016–)
Duration 1993, 2016–
First appearance 11 October 1993 (1993-10-11)
Introduced by Brian Lenanne (1993)
Maxine Fleming (2016)
Classification Present; regular
Profile
Occupation Hospital security guard
Motorbike dealer
Bartender at I.V. Bar

Frank Warner (previously Burton and Connelly) is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street. Born on-screen, Frank was originally played by an uncredited baby actor in 1993 before Luke Patrick took over the role in 2016.

The character of Frank was introduced in 1993 during a plot in which "robo nurse" Carrie Burton (Lisa Crittenden) fell pregnant after receiving 3 different sperm donations from central characters. This was billed as a "whodunit" with nurse Steve Mills (Andrew Binns), Guy Warner (Craig Parker), Dr. Hone Ropata (Temuera Morrison) and Dr. Chris Warner (Michael Galvin) all potentially being the father. The character made his first appearance on 11 October 1993, when Carrie gave birth to him and his triplet siblings. The birth was used as a storyline to write off the character of Carrie, and she departed with her children on 11 November 1993. In 2015 producers decided to reintroduce the triplets 23 years after their disappearance. The first two triplets, Finn (Lukas Whiting) and Sass (Lucy Lovegrove) were introduced throughout 2016. Whilst casting for the role of Frank, Whiting recommended acting school friend, Luke Patrick to play his triplet brother. The two had often been referred to as brother's during their acting training by other students.. Patrick's agent called him to offer an audition, and having been raised in Australia he jokingly thought, "Does New Zealand really have its own TV shows?" Patrick was cast two weeks later, as Frank in what was his first television role.. His casting was leaked to the media but due to the confidential nature of the characters introduction, the role was left ambigious. Frank returned to Shortland Street during the show's 2016 Christmas cliffhanger.

Desperate to have children but with no stable partner in her life, Shortland Street clinic's head of nursing Carrie Burton (Lisa Crittenden) accepted sperm donations from nurse Steve Mills (Andrew Binns), Guy Warner (Craig Parker), Dr. Hone Ropata (Temuera Morrison) and Dr. Chris Warner (Michael Galvin); refusing to disclose whose sperm she used. She fell pregnant and married Steve's father Declan Kennedy (Kevin J. Wilson). Carrie gave birth to triplets during good friend Meredith Fleming's (Stephanie Wilkin) leaving party and named them, Frank, Finbar, and Sarah. Declan proved to be a useless father and ended up fleeing the country to escape criminal associates he had, leaving Steve to be a surrogate parent. It turned out Sarah had a hole in her heart and came close to death during surgery. Carrie decided to flee Ferndale after receiving threats from Declan's criminal past, taking her triplets with her and leaving Steve (who had decided the children were likely his) heart broken. Several months later Steve was devastated to realise Chris had discovered he was the father and had been visiting Carrie and the triplets in Australia. This caused a rivalry between the two that ultimately led to Steve driving off the road and dying in an explosion. In November 1995 Chris visited Carrie and the triplets so that he could introduce his father Bruce (Ken Blackburn) to them before he succumbed to terminal cancer.


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Wikipedia

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