Steve Mills (previously Kennedy) 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 ''

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 ...

''. He was portrayed by

Andrew Binns Andrew Robertt is a New Zealand born actor. His work covers a diverse range of characters across multiple genres. He studied arts and sciences at The University of Auckland, and horticulture and business management at trade school. In his earlie ...

and was part of the original core cast. The character appeared in the first ever episode and stayed on the soap for two years, leaving the show in a dramatic fashion, exploding in a car crash alongside best friend Sam's (

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 ...

) wife T.P Aleni (Elizabeth Skeen). His death is remembered as one of the most iconic deaths on the soap's history. The character was largely used for comedic relief, developing into more dramatic storylines as he neared his death. Initial storylines saw the clumsy Steve fall head over heels for beautiful nurse Sarah Donnelly (Madeleine Lynch) and his subsequent depression at her death. His final storyline saw Steve try to overcome the growing attraction to his step mother and boss Carrie Burton (

Lisa Crittenden Lisa Crittenden (born 1962) is an Australian actress, noted for her roles in various television series, such as ''The Restless Years'' (as Briony Thompson, 1981), ''The Sullivans'' (as Sally Meredith), ''Prisoner'' (as Maxine Daniels 1982–83 ...

) and denial that her children were not his. Steve has been described as "lovable" and a Shortland Street "favorite". His comedy has since set a benchmark on the soap, with many characters based on his original sensitive new age characterisation including;

Lionel Skeggins Lionel Skeggins is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street'' who was portrayed by John Leigh. His casting on the show began in late 1993 as a guest role and ended in early 1999 as a fan favourite regular. Lionel ret ...

( John Leigh). Mike Galloway (

Oliver Driver Oliver Driver (born 22 November 1974) is a New Zealand actor, director, broadcaster and television presenter. Television Driver was the host of ''Let's Be Frank'', and the Creative Director of New Zealand's only alternative music television st ...

) and

Kip Denton The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street'' in 2007, by order of first appearance. Meg Harris Meg Harris was an old nursing school friend of Alice Piper ( Toni Potter). Alice t ...

(Will Hall).

Storylines

Steve is introduced in May 1992 as the prankster nurse and flatmate to

Sam Aleni Sam Aleni is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street'' who was portrayed by Rene Naufahu as part of the original cast from 1992 to 1996. Naufahu reprised his role 18 years later from March 2014. Creation and cast ...

(

). Steve works under the reign of the mercilessly bossy Carrie Burton (

) and has a huge crush on

Alison Raynor The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street'' in 1992, by order of first appearance. Marj Neilson Marj Neilson was the clinic's first receptionist and was portrayed by Elizabeth M ...

(

Danielle Cormack Danielle Cormack (born 26 December 1970) is a New Zealand stage and screen actress. She was one of the original cast members of the long-running soap opera ''Shortland Street'', though she is also known for her role as the Amazon Ephiny in the ...

). Steve is thrilled when Alison moves in but after the two share a kiss, they remain friends. Always loyal to Steve is his pet dog Killer, but disaster strikes in late 1992 when Killer is diagnosed with diabetes. Steve falls for Sarah Donnelly (Madeleine Lynch) and the two start to date. Sarah reveals she has cancer however and dies in Steve's arms at her birthday party. In 1993, Steve grows depressed over Sarah's death and is shocked when his father

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(Kevin J. Wilson) arrived in town. The estranged father and son were at odds with Steve believing Declan had murdered his mother. Steve donated sperm to polar opposite Carrie, so she could have children. Carrie and Declan ended up falling in love and getting married but when the babies were born, Declan was too busy to father them and Steve willingly gave up his time to help his possible kids. Spending time with the Burtons, Steve fell in love with Carrie, but she was receiving threats from Declan's criminal past and with Declan having fled the country, Carrie grew close to Steve. Carrie decided to flee however and she and Steve shared a kiss in late 1993. In 1994, Steve grew suspicious of

Chris Warner Christopher Alexander Warner is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street'' who has been portrayed by Michael Galvin since the show's first episode, making him the longest running original character. Galvin quit the ...

(

Michael Galvin Michael Galvin (born 27 March 1967) is a New Zealand actor, singer and playwright, well known for his role as Chris Warner on the soap opera Shortland Street, a character he has played almost since the show's debut in 1992 until 1996 and again ...

) spending time with close friend

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(

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), who was in a relationship with Stuart Neilson (

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). After catching Chris out he learnt that Chris had really been visiting Carrie as he was the father of the babies. Steve was infuriated and while driving back from

Leonard Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English language, English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate from the Old High German ''Leonhard'' containing the prefix ''levon'' ("lion") from the Greek wikiwikiweb:Λέων, � ...

(

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) and Gina's (Josephine Davison) farewell party, the two got into an argument and Steve accidentally drove the car off the road. Steve, Chris and

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'' ...

) escaped but Steve went back for T.P (Elizabeth Skeen), only to be caught in the car as it violently exploded. Steve and TP's death weighed heavily on Sam from the rest of his time on the soap, with his personality and appearance changing to a more ruthless and selfish persona gradually. Sam would gain the ownership to Steve's old house, and a dual funeral would be held a few days later for Steve and TP, where eulogies were given by Dr McKenna (

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 ...

Nick Nick may refer to: * Nick (given name) * A cricket term for a slight deviation of the ball off the edge of the bat * British slang for being arrested * British slang for a police station * British slang for stealing * Short for nickname Place ...

(

Karl Burnett Karl Burnett (born 27 February 1976) is a New Zealand actor best known for his portrayal of Nick Harrison on the long-running New Zealand soap opera, ''Shortland Street''. Burnett was 16 years old when offered the role of Nick Harrison on ''S ...

), Sam and Sam's brother Nat (Joseph Naufahu). Steve's good friend

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

(

Theresa Healey Theresa Healey (born 25 January 1964) is a New Zealand actress, known mostly for her role as nurse Carmen Roberts in the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street''. Early life Theresa was born on 25 January 1964 and is of Irish Catholic descent ...

) spent some of her lottery winnings on a memoriam for Steve and TP When Shortland Street clinic had a renovation, a memorial plaque was placed on piece of the decor stating "dedicated to Steve Mills."

Reception

The scene featuring Steve and TP's death as voted by fans as one of the most iconic scenes of the soap. Steve was described at the time of his death as "One of Shortland Street's favourite characters".STEVE MILLS: Memorial , Shortland Street Magazine , May 1994

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mills, Steve Shortland Street characters Fictional nurses Television characters introduced in 1992 Male characters in television