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. Other than a 4-year gap as a result of Galvin's resignation in 1996, Chris has appeared near-continuously making him the longest running character on the show.
Affectionately referred to by fans and in the media as "Dr Love", Chris has been characterised by his romance storylines and respected medical career that spanned from being a junior doctor, to managing the hospital. The character has been married five times and participated in over 20 romances as well as fathering six children. He was the first member of the Warner family to join the show and in the early years of Shortland Street he appeared alongside half-brother Guy Warner (Craig Parker). In later years, Chris became the patriarch of a family unit made up of his sons Harry (Reid Walker) and Phoenix (Geordie Holibar). Chris has been involved in several high profile and highly rated story lines; including a 1994 car crash, resulting drug addiction, nearly getting murdered by his brother in law Dominic Thompson (Shane Cortese), losing his wife to his drug-addicted brother Guy, ending up in jail after being framed for murder, surviving cancer and a heart attack, and a controversial abortion storyline.
The character of Chris is constantly noted as a backbone and "key character" of Shortland Street and his storylines have been well received. Galvin has also been praised for his portrayal of Chris. He was nominated for "Best Actor" at the Qantas TV and Film Awards 2008. Several of Chris's romances have also been praised, with both his marriage to Toni Thompson (Laura Hill) and his relationship with Rachel McKenna (Angela Bloomfield), landing the couplings the title of the show's "Golden Couple".
Creation and casting Created as part of the original core cast, the character (originally named "Chris Perry") was pitched as a privileged young doctor, who despite medical skill, was arrogant and focused on his sex life. Several actors auditioned for the character in 1992, with two being Michael Galvin and his flatmate Marton Csokas. Galvin went on to win the role and predicted that the show would only last six months. Csokas later went on to join the soap as Leonard Dodds in 1993. As production began, Chris's surname became Warner and the character made his first appearance on the show's first episode. Many of Galvin's co-stars became role models for him, including Elizabeth McRae (Marj Nelson), Paul Gittins (Michael McKenna), and Temuera Morrison (Hone Ropata). Galvin commented, "I learned a lot from Tem Morrison. When I started off I thought, 'I am going to make this so dramatic, everything is going to be so dramatic.' I had this completely inappropriate intensity. But Tem would come along and just float through the scene and he was just so much more watchable than me when it started. I'm sure people thought, 'Oh thank God it's him, because he's just relaxed and doing it – and who's that blond idiot dancing around.' You learn fast." Galvin stayed on the soap for several more years but began to tire of the role and quit, stating; "after four years on Shortland Street there was so much of me in Dr Warner I wasn't sure where he ended and I began." Galvin departed alongside his on-screen brother Craig Parker in an episode written by Steven Zanoski in May 1996. Originally, the characters' departure was going to lead to the series's ultimate ending. However the continued success led to further commissions and funding, and the show survived.
Following the departures of Rachel McKenna (Angela Bloomfield), Ellen Crozier (Robyn Malcolm), and Kristy Knight (Angela Dotchin), and the axing of David Kearney (Peter Elliott), in 1998 and 1999, ratings for the show dropped dramatically in 2000 and an external consultant was hired to reinvent the show, reflect modern audiences, and boost ratings. Part of this revamp was to reintroduce several fan-favourite characters and Galvin was contacted in London to see if he was interested in returning. Galvin was at first hesitant, explaining, "I kind of thought it would be very strange going back because I have such strong memories. It was a very intense period of my life, being on that show. I realised that most of the cast there will be completely new to me, I would never have worked with them." However, he accepted and upon his return to New Zealand, was asked to re-audition, "to make sure I hadn't gained 20 kg or lost a limb or developed a stutter," Galvin joked. Alongside Galvin, it was announced that Bloomfield would also return to her role as Rachel McKenna. Galvin returned to shooting in early November 2000, with Chris's first scene airing on 22 December 2000. By the show's 20th anniversary, Galvin had appeared in 2,900 episodes and announced he would be happy to stay with the show for as long as they would have him.
Storylines Chris had worked at the hospital as the young Surgeon since its opening in 1989 and had been flirting with new nurse Alison Raynor (Danielle Cormack). However behind Alison's back, Chris was sleeping with his aerobics instructor Jill Johnson (Suzy Aiken) which was shockingly revealed to the hospital when Chris missed an on-call alert. He and Alison reconciled and got engaged, only for Chris to break it off to return to his ex-wife, Melanie Kirk (Tina Regtien). The reunion was short and Chris and Alison reunited and continued with their wedding plans following a devastating miscarriage. Darryl Neilson (Mark Ferguson) had fallen in love with Alison and kidnapped Chris the night before the wedding, leading to his bride fleeing the country and leaving Chris single. He rebounded with mysterious doctor Katherine Blake (Margaret Umbers) but uncovered she had murdered her husband, leading her to run him over in her car. An intense rivalry formed with colleague Steve Mills (Andrew Binns) when Head of Nursing Carrie Burton (Lisa Crittenden) revealed Chris was the sperm-donor father of her triplet children, and he had been sleeping with Jo (Greer Robson). This led to a dramatic car crash that killed Steve and TP Aleni (Elizabeth Skeen), and left Chris paralysed. Becoming addicted to painkillers in the aftermath, Chris was helped through his addiction by Rebecca Frost (Luisa Burgess) and soon regained his ability to walk. Controversy erupted at the clinic when Chris was in charge of hiring attractive new nurse Tiffany Pratt (Alison James). Many saw chemistry between the two and assumed this was the reason she got the job. Chris denied this and Tiffany proved to be a capable nurse. However the two did develop feelings and ended up married on Valentines Day 1996. Shortly after, Chris received a job opportunity in the United States and left with brother Guy Warner (Craig Parker) and niece Tuesday Warner (Kelly Tate). Tiffany followed shortly after. The following year Chris and Tiffany divorced after she discovered him in bed with Alison. He and Alison ended up marrying off screen.
In late 2000, the clinic staff heard that a mysterious purchaser had bought the hospital and intended to transition it to the public sector. At Christmas, Chris revealed himself as the new owner and hesitantly revealed his marriage with Alison was over after he had cheated. He became engaged to Samara Hindmarsh (Jodie Rimmer) but realised she was a fraud and was saved by Rachel McKenna (Angela Bloomfield). The two fell in love but Rachel's alcoholism proved problematic and Chris had a one-night stand with nurse, Toni Thompson (Laura Hill). Toni fell pregnant and Chris became a father to Harry (Joshua Thompson). Rachel was staunchly anti-motherhood and her alcoholism worsened. The relationship ended and Chris started to date Donna Heka (Stephanie Tauevihi). The arrival of Chris's illegitimate half-brother Dom (Shane Cortese) caused trouble when Dom manipulated Donna's step daughter into pretending Chris had sexually abused her, ended the relationship between Chris and Donna. Chris stepped into the CEO position when Dr Victor Kahu (Calvin Tuteao) resigned but was dismissed when the DHB discovered his knowledge of a euthanasia within the hospital. Chris and Toni reunited in Fiji and it was soon revealed Dom was not Chris's brother at all and he attempted to murder Chris only to die in the subsequent explosion. Chris went on to marry a pregnant Toni, who fell down the family house stairs and miscarried their child. While the couple briefly separated, Chris had an affair with the prostitute Greta Saunders (Meryl Maine), who tried to poison Toni before they reunited. Struggling in his personal life and returning to the CEO position, Chris started to suffer from anxiety. The pressure lead Chris to have an affair with Justine Jones (Laurie Foell) resulting in Toni fleeing Ferndale with Chris's brother Guy and taking Harry from him.
Six months later Chris was able to track down Toni and Harry, and the relationship briefly reunited before Toni succumbed to complications from norovirus. Chris was removed from the CEO position in 2008 to focus on leading an innovative surgical training unit. Chris dated both Brooke Freeman (Beth Allen) and Libby Jeffries (Fleur Saville) before finding love with Gabrielle Jacobs (Virginie Le Brun). His relationship with Gabrielle soon faced a hurdle with the return of Rachel who had orchestrated a return to Ferndale under the guise of helping new CEO Dr Callum Mackay but with the real aim of reuniting with Chris.
Chris and Gabrielle's eventually relationship broke down, with Gabrielle accepting a job in Zurich. Chris discovered he had a teenage son named Phoenix Raynor (Geordie Holibar) whom Alison had kept secret after they split up. After years of denying his love for Rachel McKenna, the two finally reconciled in late 2010. The two moved in together and briefly separated when Chris had an affair with a returned Gabrielle. Chris was stalked and manipulated for months by Phoenix's teacher Hayley O'Neill (Michelle Blundell) and was framed for her murder by her abusive ex-boyfriend. Serving in remand prison, Chris was released 2 months later when the true killer Drew Webster (Joel Herbert), confessed. Chris had a brief return as CEO before suffering brain damage in a flying-fox incident. Desperate to become a father once again but following a refusal from Rachel, Chris embarked on a non-romantic affair with Grace Kwan (Lynette Forday), impregnating her. He and Rachel got married but when Grace lied about miscarrying and Chris covered this up, Rachel left the relationship. They eventually reconciled and Chris welcomed his daughter Trinity Kwan in late 2014. Following Rachel's relapse into alcoholism in 2016, the marriage collapsed and Chris returned to the CEO role at the hospital following her departure from Ferndale.
On Chris's 50th birthday, he began to show signs of illness and was diagnosed with stage 3 Leukemia. Undergoing chemotherapy, Chris survived the disease after receiving bone marrow from eldest son Frank Warner (Luke Patrick). Nursed to health by Kate Nathan (Laurel Devenie), the two fell in love. Kate left Chris for her true love Mo Hannah (Jarod Rawiri) and Chris began to date her younger sister Zoe Carlson (Holly Shervey). Chris was shocked when Zoe revealed she had been faking cancer, but also that she was pregnant. The couple broke up when Chris pressured her to terminate as the baby was likely to be disabled on birth, but Zoe miscarried when she was raped by The Beechwood Beast. Chris and Zoe nearly reconciled only for his heartbreak when he discovered she had mutually fallen in love with his son Finn (Lukas Whiting).