also tired of the role and what he considered, "hands-in-pocket acting" and he quit, departing in mid 1995. Paul Gittins (Michael McKenna) also began to become exhausted by the constant workload needed to play Michael and he wanted diversity in his career. He quit the role and departed in mid 1995. By late 1995, Michael Galvin (Chris Warner) was struggling with the amount of time he was spending playing Chris and decided to quit the show. He stated, "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 onscreen brother Craig Parker (Guy Warner) in an episode written by Steven Zanoski in May 1996. Originally, the characters' departure was going to lead to the series' ultimate ending. However, the continued success led to further commissions and the show survived. Elizabeth McRae (Marj Brasch) had also begun to worry that audiences would not be able to recognize her in any other roles and she wished for diversity. She quit the role in 1995 with many months of notice for producers to write her out. Producers decided to write her out in a storyline where she became a politician. They saw this as a fun and unusual write out for a deserving fan favourite character. Marj made her last appearance as a regular character on 1 July 1996. Rene Naufahu (Sam Aleni) struggled with the fame associated with the show and in 1996, quit his role. He requested Sam be killed off however this never came to fruition and Sam made his final appearance in August 1996. Following Naufahu's departure, there were only three remaining members of the original cast, Angela Dotchin (Kirsty Knight), Maggie Harper (Jenny Harrison) and Karl Burnett (Nick Harrison). However, in late 1997, Dotchin quit the show and Kirsty made her last appearance in early 1998. Harper quit her role several months later, saying she was pleased with the amount of spare time she had secured, stating, "The week I finished I was on my bike cycling away and I thought, 'Oh, I have no lines to learn, how wonderful'." In 2005, after a run of 13 years, Karl Burnett was axed from the soap. The character of Nick was reportedly no longer seen as a "asset" to the show. Nick made his last appearance in early 2005. Returns Adrian