Hunter McKay
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| Hunter McKay | |||||||||||||||
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| Shortland Street character | |||||||||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Lee Donoghue | ||||||||||||||
| Duration | 2006–12 | ||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 8 December 2006 | ||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 6 March 2012 | ||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Jason Daniel | ||||||||||||||
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Hunter McKay is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street who was portrayed by Lee Donoghue from December 2006, as part of a new family unit consisting of parents Callum McKay (Peter Mochrie) and Justine Jones (Laurie Foell), and younger sister Sophie McKay (Kimberley Crossman). Donoghue stayed with the role until he quit in late 2011. Hunter made his final appearance in March 2012.
Hunter was portrayed as an intelligent character who was seen as a womaniser, starting an affair with his bully's mother Tess (Anita Torrance) in 2007. Storylines around Hunter often saw his relationship with his family strained due to his large ego and career choices throughout adolescence; this included the decision to become a model despite his parents' best wishes. The character starred in numerous ethical storylines, including the dangers of modelling, an HIV storyline, and drug addiction. However, the character was also often involved in relationship storylines, including long running partnerships with Tess, Morgan Braithwaite (Bonnie Soper), Jill Kingsbury (Natalie Medlock) and serial killer Penny Rourke (Carolyn Dando).
Donoghue has been praised throughout the characters run, being labelled a "hunk" and a "hottie". His acting has also been praised by television critics, stating he is believable and enjoyable. Hunter's storylines have also been well received, primarily the bullying storyline that resulted in Scarlett Valentine attempting to murder him and his drug addiction.
The character of Justine Jones had been introduced to the show in 2005 as a vehicle for Australian actress Laurie Foell to enter the soap, having previously made her name on Home and Away.[1] The following year, Foell was offered a reprisal of the role with the intention of centring a new family unit around Justine.[2] To accompany the return of Justine, the characters of her husband Callum, daughter Sophie, and son Hunter, were created. Hunter was said to be "a young man with huge potential." and would be "strong-willed, egotistical and driven as his parents".[3] Lee Donoghue was part way through gaining his qualifications from Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School, when he was offered the role of Hunter McKay.[4] Hunter and Sophie made their first appearance on 8 December 2006 with Hunter's first line being: "Very rustic, can't I get a hug from my mum first?". Donoghue took a 9-week break in mid-2011 to study in New York.[5] Whilst there, Donoghue fell in love and got a management contract.[5] Seeing as his Shortland Street contract was nearing its end, he decided not to renew it.[5] Hunter was written off in the conclusion to his drug addiction storyline, with Donoghue filming his final scenes in December 2011.[5] Hunter made his final appearance in early March 2012 with his final line being; "I love you too."
Storylines
Hunter arrived in New Zealand with sister, Sophie (Kimberley Crossman), in December 2006 and instantly got in trouble with airport security, much to parents Callum (Peter Mochrie) and Justine's (Laurie Foell) anger. He had a brief fling with Scarlett Valentine (Nicole Thomson) but started to bully her, resulting in Scarlett attempting to murder Hunter. Hunter began to get bullied by gay schoolboy – Nate (Damien Harrison), who had a crush on him. He started a controversial relationship with Nate's mother Tess (Anita Torrance) which ended when he proposed. In 2008, Hunter used the fake death of Justine (Lucy Wigmore) to guilt Morgan Braithwaite (Bonnie Soper) into a relationship. His attempts at a career in modelling abruptly ended in 2009 when he realised the huge drug culture in the industry, and he briefly dated nurse Aroha Reed (Geneva Alexander-Marsters) before joining medical school to become a doctor.
In 2010, Hunter briefly dated Tracey Morrison (Sarah Thompson) before getting stabbed with a needle by a drug addict. Faced with possible HIV, Hunter was outcast by his colleagues and when he was stabbed by a thug in May, he finally discovered he did not have the disease. He started to date Penny Rourke (Carolyn Dando) but learnt she was a murderer and turned her in to the police. In 2011, Hunter started to date Jill Kingsbury (Natalie Medlock), but stress and competition with rival Paige (Rachel Foreman) caused Hunter to take ADHD medication. He found himself increasingly reliant and started taking harder drugs when Jill left him for Callum. Hunter was eventually dropped from medical school and Jill ended up dead when Hunter robbed a pharmacy for drugs. Struggling to cope with sobriety, his awaiting trial, and disappointment from Callum, Hunter departed to Hastings to attend rehab in March 2012, finally on good terms with his father.