Shorty stars Harry & Natalie - LOVE, LOSS & LAUGHTER

The besties reveal the close bond that’s got them through personal tragedy

- Leena Tailor

You can count on laughs any time former Shortland Street stars Harry McNaughton and Natalie Medlock are around. The best friends first worked together in 2010 in a “completely bonkers” play that saw Natalie dress Harry up as Melanie Lynskey from Heavenly Creatures, something that had both of them in fits of giggles.

Just over a decade later, they still share a twisted sense of humour that has helped them through some seriously dark times, such as Natalie’s struggles with depression and the death of fellow Shorty actor Pua Magasiva, the brother of Natalie’s partner Robbie.

“At my lowest, if I couldn’t make the darkest joke that only Harry would laugh at, I don’t know what I’d do,” says Natalie, 37. “If I don’t laugh, I cry. Harry makes the most inappropriate jokes when he comes around and I’m like, ‘Thank you!’”

“The jokes are verging on offensive,” adds Harry, 33, who was the first person Natalie told about her romance with Robbie. “Not appropriate for Woman’s Day!”

Comedy was also key as the two tackled the contentious topic of euthanasia in their new TVNZ OnDemand series The Pact, which they cocreated. Premiering October 18, the show follows a family dealing with matriarch Betty’s wish to control her death after an Alzheimer’s diagnosis.