Jamie Forrest is a fictional character on the

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

Shortland Street ''Shortland Street'' is a New Zealand prime-time soap opera centring on the fictitious Shortland Street Hospital, first broadcast on TVNZ 2 on 25 May 1992. It is New Zealand's longest-running drama and soap opera, being broadcast continuously ...

''. The character was portrayed by

Karl Urban Karl-Heinz Urban (born 7 June 1972) is a New Zealand actor. His career began with appearances in New Zealand films and TV series such as '' Xena: Warrior Princess''. His first Hollywood role was in the 2002 horror film '' Ghost Ship''. Since ...

for a guest stint in mid-1993 before returning later in the year for a 6-month recurring stint. The character is remembered as the first openly

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

character on the show.

Creation and casting

In 1992 ''Shortland Street'' planned for character Stuart Neilson to be gay however the plans fell through. Producers decided to break new ground by introducing the controversial character. The character appeared in a short guest stint before returning for a 6-month recurring stint.

Storylines

Jamie arrived to Shortland Street. After childhood friend

Kirsty Kirsty or Kirstie is a feminine given name and nickname. It is a Scottish diminutive of Christine in English-speaking countries and is also linked to Kirsten — the Scandinavian version of Christine. People * Kirstie Alley (1951–2022), Ame ...

(

Angela Dotchin Angela Marie Dotchin (born 31 March 1974 in Auckland) is a former actress best most known for her roles as Kirsty Knight in ''Shortland Street'', and as Emilia Rothschild in '' Jack of All Trades'' and for starring as Kora on ''Young Hercules'' ...

) failed to attract Jamie, he revealed he was gay. He worked as a paramedic alongside Sam (

Rene Naufahu Rene Naufahu (born May 1970) is a New Zealand actor, screenwriter and director. Career Naufahu is perhaps best known for being an original cast member of the New Zealand soap opera '' Shortland Street'', playing paramedic Sam Aleni for the show ...

) but was alienated due to his sexuality. The two made up and Jamie ended up leaving the hospital. He returned some months later and the teenage

Jonathon McKenna Dr. Jonathon Alexander McKenna is a fictional character in the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street''. He is portrayed by Kieren Hutchison, who played the role in both recurring and regular stints throughout the 1990s, before returning for ...

(

Kieren Hutchison Kieren Robert Hutchison (born 9 October 1974) is a New Zealand actor. He was born in Auckland, New Zealand. Career Hutchison is best known for playing the roles of Jonathon McKenna in the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street'', Andy Hargrov ...

) developed a crush on him that eventually evolved into a love affair. Jonathon's father

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

(

Paul Gittins Paul Gittins is a New Zealand actor who is best known for playing Doctor Michael McKenna in ''Shortland Street'' from 1992 to 1995 and 1998 to 1999, and he has also appeared in ''The End of the Golden Weather'', '' Xena: Warrior Princess'', ''H ...

) was heavily against the two's relationship and ended up temporarily disowning his son. Michael saved the couple from a group of homophobes but the two ended up breaking up. Jamie found solace being an advocate for HIV and gay rights before he eventually reconciled with Jonathon. However, when Jamie decided to move to

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

and travel the world, the two broke up and made peace.

Reception

Jamie is remembered as the first ever openly homosexual character on the show. His romance with Jonathon proved both controversial and groundbreaking. It helped educate New Zealanders on homosexuality and even helped a confused teenager accept his sexuality. In 2017 ''

stuff.co.nz Stuff is a New Zealand news media website owned by newspaper conglomerate Stuff Ltd (formerly called Fairfax). It is the most popular news website in New Zealand, with a monthly unique audience of more than 2 million. Stuff was founded in 20 ...

'' journalist Fleur Mealing named Jamie as the 7h character she most wanted to return for the show's 25th anniversary, citing the need to celebrate the first openly gay character on the show whilst it was in the midst of portraying its first

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...

character Blue Nathan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forrest, Jamie Shortland Street characters Fictional gay males Television characters introduced in 1993 Fictional paramedics Fictional LGBT characters in television Male characters in television