Throng

7:00pm Friday, August 13 on TV2

A stressed-out Wendy Cooper (Jacqueline Nairn) is mortified on Shortland Street tonight, when she is suspected of stealing.

When the Social Club needs a helping hand, Wendy is happy to offer her assistance. But when Nicole (Sally Martin) and Yvonne (Alison Quigan) notice a substantial sum of money missing from the Social Club's bank account, it seems there can be only one possible suspect.

Aware of the financial stress Wendy has been under, Yvonne and Nicole confront a humiliated Wendy.

7:00pm Friday, August 13 on TV2

An unlikely alliance is formed on Shortland Street tonight, when Brooke Freeman (Beth Allen) and Isaac Worthington (Matt Minto) hit it off.

When the pair share a drink at the IV one night, they realise they have more in common than they thought. So when Maia (Anna Jullienne) assumes they are romantically involved with one another, Isaac and Brooke team up to put her in her place.

Realising a devilish friendship has been formed, the duo wonder what will become of this new bond.

7:00pm Wednesday, August 11 on TV2

Isaac Worthington (Matt Minto) is forced into a tight corner on Shortland Street tonight, by a bolshie Maia Jeffries (Anna Jullienne).

When Maia learns of Isaac's devious activities, she demands that he tell her sister Tania (Faye Smythe) right away. Reluctantly calling his girlfriend while she holidays in Hawaii, Isaac informs Tania of his shocking behaviour. Whatever Isaac tells her must be pretty bad, because a furious Tania decides to resign from her job at the hospital.

Has Dr Worthington's bad behaviour forced Tania out of Ferndale forever?

7:00pm Weeknights on TV2

Shortland Street viewers will soon learn more about the elusive Wendy Cooper (Jacqueline Nairn), as her family are introduced over the coming months.

Nairn was excited to get to know her new on-screen kids and to learn more about her character's personal life.

"Wendy's storylines have mainly been based around what goes on at work, so I'm really looking forward to exploring another aspect of her life," says Nairn. "I'm also intrigued about how the Coopers will weave themselves into Ferndale and Shortland Street hospital."

With three Cooper children set to join the Shortland Street cast - Evan (Tyler Read), Jasmine (Pearl McGlashan) and Bella (Amelia Reid), Nairn says she couldn't be happier with the selection.

Panic at Rock Island, a new Australian telemovie that began production in Sydney today includes two faces familiar to kiwi viewers: Grant Bowler (Outrageous Fortune, Lost, True Blood, Ugly Betty) and Anna Hutchison (Shortland Street, Go Girls, Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities).

Set on a spectacular island in Sydney Harbour, Panic At Rock Island tells the story of a hot summer’s day when a lineup of top acts play for music fans from around the world. It’s all idyllic until unimaginable disaster strikes when a deadly virus is discovered on the island. Its symptoms are shocking and it brings swift and painful death.

Panic at Rock Island will air in Australia later in the year.  No New Zealand air date is known at present.

Figures released by the World Health Organization (WHO) have revealed that for the first time, a new top cause of death has overtaken cancer to be the top killer in New Zealand.

In 2007, it was reported by the New Zealand Health Information Service (NZHIS) that cancer accounted for almost one third of all deaths in 2003.

However, a new study, conducted jointly by WHO, NZHIS and Nielsen's ratings, has discovered that working at Shortland Street Hospital is a terminal recipe for upwards of 40% of its staff.

"This is an alarming statistic," Dr Patricia McGroyne of WHO told world media.  "Clearly working at Shortland Street is an incredible health risk, especially if you are a nurse.  Some years between 2000 and 2010 the mortality rate for nurses at Shortland Street is above 50%."

Shortland Street’s Kieran Mitchell may have plunged to his death on Monday somewhere outside of Ferndale, but it appears actor Adam Rickitt landed on his feet.

The actor’s popularity in the UK has led to Shortland Street being picked up by a British network to be played on weeknights, staring at the point where Adam Rickitt’s Kieran first appeared on the soap.

The Living network in the UK, which plays the likes of Britain’s Next Top Model, has acquired Shortland Street and will broadcast it as double bills on weeknights.

A statement from Living said: "Viewers can learn what has kept TV fans in New Zealand hooked for 18 years, as some of the most exciting episodes reintroduce the intense and emotional show to British audiences."

In 2008, New Zealand was gripped by the Ferndale strangler story.  On the 5th of March, approximately 650,000 people tuned in as Joey Henderson fell to his death after it had become one of the most talked about storylines ever on Shortland Street.

On Monday night, in their first ever feature length episode, Kieran Mitchell's cliff top fall netted the soap an average audience of 837,530.

While it wasn't the biggest audience Shortland Street has ever had, it was the highest rating episode since April 25, 2000.