Nicholas John Harrison is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street who was portrayed by Karl Burnett from the show's second episode in 1992 to 2005, making him the original character to stay with the show the longest in one stint. The character, along with wife Waverley, returned for the show's 25th anniversary that aired on 25 May 2017.
Creation and casting
Whilst creating the soap that was to become, Shortland Street, Caterina De Nave decided to write teenagers into the show so as to draw in a younger demographic. It was decided to have two teenagers, one being Stuart Neilson – an articulate homosexual and the other Nick Harrison – a drug taking rebel. The two characters were set to be heart throbs and auditions were undertaken for the roles. Sixteen-year-old Karl Burnett whose only other experience was the 1991 film When Love Comes and high school drama classes won the role. Milan Borich got into the final stages of auditioning but instead landed the role of Nick's best friend in the show's first week. Burnett's portrayal of Nick proved to be greatly different than the spunky rebel that had been envisioned and writers began to develop Nick into a more comedic and clumsy character. This worried producers who were scared that the soaps only heart throb was gay and they requested the character of Stuart also be rewritten to be heterosexual. The character of Nick made his debut in the show's second episode on 26 May 1992.
In 2005, after 13 years on the show, the character of Nick was axed by producers alongside wife, Waverley Harrison (Claire Chitham). The network reportedly did not think the characters were any longer an "asset" to the show. The Harrison family made their last appearance on 17 March 2005. Burnett was not surprised at his character's axing and had been ready to move on from the role. Though he was not opposed to returning to the soap for one or two guest appearances, he did not think he would be asked back. Burnett stayed with the show in the role of a boom operator behind the scenes. In 2012, Burnett admitted that he had not been asked to return for the show's 20th anniversary. Following an online campaign and petition to reinstate Nick in 2014, Burnett commented that he was open and willing to return. In honour of the show's 25th anniversary in 2017, Burnett was asked to reprise his role alongside Chitham. The two filmed an appearance for the feature length special which Burnett commented was, "definitely going to be a fun watch". Burnett made his reappearance on 25 May 2017.
Storylines
Badboy Nick was accused of stealing a boat and fell out with best friend, Stuart (Martin Henderson) when their mutual friend Miles Lucas (Hamish MacFarlane) committed suicide and the two struggled to withhold their emotions. Nick started to date punk girl, Serena Hughes (Willa O'Neill) to anger his mother Jenny (Maggie Harper). However the plan backfired when Serena and Jenny got on famously and Nick fell for her. However the two eventually broke up and Nick developed unrequited love for Rachel McKenna (Angela Bloomfield). Nick grew jealous when Rachel got together with Stuart and got in a serious accident when he stole Stuart's motorbike in a fit of rage. Whilst Nick dated a girl called Olivia, he learned that he may not be Jenny's real son, with the possibility of being swapped at birth with Adam Brady (Jeremy Brennan) arising. Undergoing an identity crisis, Nick nicknamed himself "Slash" and took up smoking. However Adam was soon revealed to be mentally ill and was sent to a psychiatric ward, and Nick realised how much he loved his mum, dropping his bad boy persona. Nick cleaned up his act and developed a crush on new girl, Waverley Wilson (Claire Chitham) after he broke up with Olivia. Waverley used Nick for sex but the two eventually started to legitimately develop feelings.