TV

The ladies of Shortland Street go ultra glam

Check out our stunning shoot with Shorty's leading ladies.
Sally Martin, Ria Vandervis, Angela Bloomfield, Amelia Reid-Meredith

Swapping their scrubs and stethoscopes for swanky gowns and sparkling jewels, the leading ladies of Shortland Street dressed to the nines to celebrate the Kiwi soap reaching a momentous 6000 episodes on June 2.

And we wanted to bring you all the glam photos from the shoot.

“Are you sure? That doesn’t seem enough!” laughs Angela Bloomfield, 43, who has been on our screens as Rachel McKenna since she was 19. “We have been doing it for so long – are you sure it’s not 18,000? It must be a sign of age because it feels much more than that!”

The actress and director, along with her glamorous co-stars, is overawed to be part of a Kiwi legacy and impressive list of alumni, who include Danielle Cormack, Martin Henderson and Temuera Morrison.

Being part of the iconic Shorty juggernaut isn’t lost on Angela’s co-stars, who have joined her for the shoot to celebrate the milestone. That’s not the only landmark achievement for the show, either, as it’s due to turn 25 next year.

Reflecting on the beloved soap’s enduring popularity, the stars agree that it’s the passionate cast and crew, coupled with their boundary-pushing storylines, that keep us glued to our screens.

Ria Vandervis, aka Harper Whitley, is proud that the soap doesn’t shy away from starting tricky social conversations.

“It’s a show that touches on important issues like euthanasia and sexuality – having a transgender character is groundbreaking!” says Ria, 31. “It gets people talking and starts a dialogue because the show isn’t afraid to go there.”

Ria and Angela and their co-stars Grace Palmer, Ngahuia Piripi, Sally Martin, Amelia Reid-Meredith and Kerry-Lee Dewing all sparkled in our exclusive Woman’s Day photo shoot.

Click through to view more photos from our shoot with the Shortland Street cast

Sally Martin (Nicole Miller), Ria Vandervis (Harper Whitley), Angela Bloomfield (Rachel McKenna) and Amelia Reid-Meredith (Bella Durville).

Kerry-Lee Dewing who plays the character Kylie Brown.

“I never get the chance to dress up. The last time was probably my school ball!,” says Kerry-Lee Dewing

“We have been doing it for so long – are you sure it’s not 18,000? It must be a sign of age because it feels much more than that!,” says Angela Bloomfield.

Ria Vandervis says it’s the show’s willingness to tackle tricky issues that keeps audiences glued to the screens.

“It’s a privilege, but you feel like a very small piece of the puzzle,” says Grace Palmer, reflecting on the incredible cast and crew (both past and present) involved in the show.

Ngahuia Piripi says her feisty character Esther Samuels could take some style tips from today’s shoot too.

See the ladies in our behind the scenes video – Gallery continues after the video

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Behind the scenes with the Shortland Street Ladies!

Amelia Reid-Meredith, who plays Bella Durville, says she’d love to film a musical dream sequence where Bella’s running the hospital instead of Rachel.

Sally Martin says the cast often find “art imitating life, life imitating art” with real-world parallels to Shorty’s storylines.

Amelia Reid-Meredith poses for the camera in our Old Hollywood-style shoot.

Ria Vandervis

Kerry-Lee Dewing

Grace Palmer

Sally Martin

Ngahuia Piripi

Angela Bloomfield

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