Shortland Street's Katherine Kennard AT 50, I FINALLY FEEL LIKE I'M ENOUGH

The captivating Kiwi actress opens up about an abusive relationship, her struggle with self-confidence and coming to terms with not being a mother.

- JUDY BAILEY

Fondly known by its cast and crew as "The Factory”, Shortland Street is a beloved part of our cultural landscape that celebrates an incredible 30 years on air this May.

It's something of a watershed and certainly a massive achievement in the fickle world of free-to-air television. Its producers are no doubt wondering where to take their characters as they launch into another decade of nightly relationship angst and drama.

And in the thick of it all is actress Katherine Kennard, who's arrived on the scene as Chris Warner's new love interest Vivienne Erwell. Boy, he gets around that Dr Warner!

But for Katherine, her appearance on the popular TVNZ 2 soap comes at a time when she is re-evaluating her life. It's a time, she says, of freedom and liberation, and it's been a long time coming.

At 50, Katherine is a familiar face on our screens. I remember her as a fresh-faced 20-something pretty much straight out of Unitec's drama school, playing opposite Jay Laga’aia in the law series Street Legal, directed by my husband Chris.

Two decades later, she is still fresh-faced. She has that same stillness and the same mix of vulnerability and steeliness that so captivated Chris when he was casting the show. There's an indefinable quality about her. "She stood out,” he remembers. "She was just different."

Katherine guested on Shortland Street in the early days, but as Vivienne, she's now part of the core cast. It's a demanding role and comes with a gruelling schedule. “High turnover TV is a huge stress," she admits. “You have to adapt, especially in these Covid times. We're getting scenes thrown at us to learn overnight as people get sick and things change."