Fans of Shortland Street have shared their glee over the long-running soap returning to UK screens for the first time in 15 years.
The New Zealand serial drama arrived on STV Player – the service that brought Brookside back to our screens – late last month, marking the first time it’s been available to watch over here in a decade and a half.
The medical drama, set in the fictional Auckland suburb of Ferndale, previously aired on a number of ITV regions in the late nineties and early noughties, before enjoying a run on Living in 2010.
Amazon Freevee, the streamer that famously revived Neighbours, acquired the 2021 and 2022 seasons back in 2023 before shutting down last year.
Fresh episodes of Shortland Street – or Shorty to diehard fans – now drop every Monday on STV Player, and fans simply can’t get enough.
‘Watching @ShortlandTweet for the first time in YEARS, as it’s now back on in the UK – only person I know is Dr Chris Warner,’ wrote @lucys_portraits on X, formerly known as Twitter, adding: ‘So glad it’s back on!’
Fellow social media user David echoed this sentiment, writing: ‘#ShortlandStreet is back on UK screens and on @WeAreSTV and I cannot wait to catch up with what is happening in Ferndale!’
Matthew added: ‘Shortland Street returning to the UK is brilliant news.. very much missed it when it was taken away in 2010. The fact we will be getting brand new episodes too is great.’
Discussing Shortland Street’s return to the UK, Michael Galvin – the longest-serving soap actor in New Zealand – said: ‘Kia ora, UK! I’m absolutely thrilled to hear that Shortland Street is coming to your shores.
‘This little show of ours has become such a huge part of the culture here in New Zealand over the last 33 years, and to know that it’s now going to be part of the British soap landscape alongside legendary shows like Coronation Street and Emmerdale is a real honour.
‘Strap yourselves in, because if there’s one thing I can tell you about Shorty, it’s that drama is never more than a heartbeat away’.
Shortland Street arrives on STV Player from Monday February 17, with three episodes streaming every Monday.
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