Kerry-Lee's Shock Exit - My Tears & Fears About Letting Go

After eight years, her television trauma was taking its toll

- Marilynn Mclachlan

As the Shortland Street cameras stopped rolling last December, it was the end of a chapter for Kerry-Lee Dewing after nearly eight years playing nurse Kylie Brown. Tears rolled down the actress’ cheeks as she bid farewell to her beloved character and the castmates who have become like family to her on the popular TVNZ 2 show.

“It was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life,” recalls Kerry-Lee, 30. “It was amazing. I didn’t know I was appreciated to that extent. You put so much into your role and hope that it translates. I was showered with flowers and gifts and beautiful words. There were friends, cast, crew and people from the network there, lining the corridors clapping as I walked out of the studio. It felt like a funeral, but Kylie didn’t die!

“It’s the relationships with cast and crew that are the hardest thing to say goodbye to,” admits Kerry-Lee, who departed on screen last Friday. “You can never express your gratitude enough and the part people have played in your life.

“It always sounds cliché when you say it, but I literally have Shortland Street to thank for not only the actress I’ve become, but the woman I am today, because it wasn’t just me growing up in that time – I coexisted with this other woman Kylie. Working through her trials and tribulations, her successes and losses have all shaped my perspective. I got schooled two-fold!”

The blonde beauty first appeared on Shortland Street in 2012 and was quickly entangled in a tumultuous love life with many boyfriends, dates and even a marriage or two while enjoying popularity with fellow nurses. Things took a darker turn in 2016 for the resident ‘it girl’ when the show tackled the controversial topic of euthanasia, with Kylie assisting her mother to die after she was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer.