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Rachel McKenna is a fictional character from the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street'', played by Angela Bloomfield and who made her first appearance in early 1993. Bloomfield left the role in 1999, before returning in 2001 and departing in 2003. She returned in a guest role in 2007 and again in a full-time role in 2009. Arriving as part of the McKenna family unit, Rachel debuted in early 1993 alongside her mother Alex (Liddy Holloway), the estranged wife of hospital CEO Michael McKenna (Paul Gittins). The family were later joined by Rachel's homosexual brother Jonathon (Kieren Hutchison). Originally a love interest for "heart throb" Stuart Neilson (Martin Henderson), Rachel would go through numerous boyfriends and four husbands including a "will they, won't they?" romance with Chris Warner (Michael Galvin), spanning more than 10 years. She was known for her covering of "ethical issues" such as storylines that featured bulimia, near death experiences, alcoholism, student loan protests, child abuse and being hit by lightning. Her friendship with Nick Harrison (Karl Burnett) spanned numerous years, saw the two become an iconic coupling and even become briefly married during a protest on student loans. The character is one of the shows longest running characters and has been labelled hugely iconic. Many of her story lines have been praised, such as her relationships and "ethical storylines". Bloomfield has been celebrated for her portrayal, winning several awards including "Best Actress" and "Sexiest Female" in ''TV Guide'' reader polls. ==Creation and casting== To widen demographic audiences, producers ensured ''Shortland Street'' featured family units so that several key characteristics could be met (middle aged parents, teenage children). In mid-1992 it was decided to expand on the established character, Michael McKenna (Paul Gittins) (who had appeared since the show's first episode), by introducing his family. The soap's key demographic was teenage girls and as such, a 16-year-old daughter was created in the form of Rachel McKenna. She was given instant romance connections by being penned as a love interest for established "heart throb", Stuart Neilson (Martin Henderson). Angela Bloomfield won the role in August 1992 and did not realise the significance of the show nor the character until much later. Rachel's first scenes involved her leaving the shower in just a towel, an experience Bloomfield described as, "terrifying". Bloomfield believed the role took over her life and that she, "used Rachel to become capable of having a huge argument with partner or parents. After a couple of years I decided I wasnt being true to myself." The storyline where Rachel became an alcoholic proved too heavy for Bloomfield,〔 and to relax following such intense scenes, Bloomfield performed meditation with co-star, Robyn Malcolm (Nurse Ellen Crozier). By the late nineties, Bloomfield had grown sick of the role and quit. The character made her last appearance on 23 September 1999. Rachel was written off in a storyline that saw her leave the country, purposely done in case Bloomfield wished to reprise the role at a later date.〔 Executive producer Tony Holden asked Bloomfield to reprise the role several times over the next year, to which she declined for a later date. However she soon started to miss the job and when she was offered the role again in late 2000, happily accepted.〔 Television New Zealand assured fans they would not be let down by Rachel's return alongside original character Chris Warner (Michael Galvin), as they would bring a lot of "spice" to the soap. Rachel made her return on screen on 5 February 2001. However once again Bloomfield felt weighed down by the role and found it difficult to stand such a hard nosed character. As the character of Rachel developed into a cold and bitter alcoholic, Bloomfield found herself struggling to identify with her like she previously had, "I think I've grown up, while recently Rachel seems to have regressed." She found the storyline where Rachel had her tubes tied and later shook a baby too hard to do and when producers refused to tone the character down, she quit the show and left in 2002.〔 Bloomfield commented, "Throughout my twenties, I have concentrated almost totally on the show ... But at the same time I've had to grow personally and I did that by myself ... Now it is time for me to put those books down and spend the next 10 years just living." Rachel made her last appearance on 14 February 2003. Whilst taking up a role as a director, Bloomfield agreed to briefly reprise the role in a cameo appearance to celebrate the show's 15th anniversary in June 2007.〔 Bloomfield found it unusual acting after having directed for several years, but was made welcome by co star Michael Galvin (Chris Warner), "I haven't been in front of the camera on this set for such a long time that it felt weird .... Acting with Michael was the easiest part of the job .... Whenever I was on set with anyone else I was nervous, but when I was with him, I felt relaxed."〔 In early 2009 Bloomfield agreed to reprise the role full-time and was forced to keep the return a secret for much of the year.〔 She signed an initial 9-month contract. Rachel made her reappearance on the show on 23 October 2009.〔 After years of work behind the camera, Bloomfield found her stint a lot more "taxing" and struggled with Rachel's "anti-children" sentiment.〔 Following the show's 20th anniversary, Bloomfield acknowledged the importance she had gained due to her longevity and experience on the show, "I've realised over time that new actors take their cues from us oldies, just like I did from Elizabeth McRae (Marj Brasch) and Paul Gittins (Michael McKenna). What we do has quite an influence on how they are." In 2013, following the 20th anniversary of Rachel's first appearance on the show, Bloomfield announced her intention to stay on with the show in what she saw as a, "perfect fit".〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Rachel McKenna」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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