Everyone looks forward to a Shortland Street wedding but the latest set of nuptials on the Kiwi drama involved less spectacle than most.
Dr Brooke Freeman, played by Beth Allen, has finally managed to trick a man into marrying her and revealed to the wealthy Rolleston family that she has taken their son Boyd (Sam Bunkall) off the market.
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Unfortunately for Allen, the ceremony took place off screen and she didn’t get to wear the traditional white dress which often becomes the highlight of a TV wedding. Weddings and drama inevitably go hand in hand on Shortland Street and this shocking announcement will be no different.
Not only has Brooke angered Boyd’s family, who had other plans for their son, but she has also married the boyfriend of nurse Nicole Miller (Sally Martin). That’s sure to cause an uproar, but Allen says, in the scheme of things, it’s not that bad.
“She’s done worse,” Allen says. “She doesn’t think it’s bad. Brooke sees that Boyd and Nicole were very on/off, they didn’t spend much time together, that they’re not very well suited… so it’s just an inevitability in Brooke’s eyes, I think.
“She doesn’t really care about Nicole. Nicole’s just a nurse. Brooke definitely sees the status of things.”
Indeed she does. Known for being money driven Brooke only became interested in Boyd when she found out about his family’s wealth, and Allen doesn’t mind labelling her character superficial.
“Oh totally, she is a gold-digger,” she says. “I think she does essentially want love and she wants to be accepted and loved but she also has had enough life experience to know that life is a lot easier and a lot more fun with money, so she’s not really compromising on that one.”
But is it all about money this time for Brooke “I think she has a connection with Boyd,” Allen says.
“She really admires that he’s principled and probably can’t quite believe her luck that he seems to be accepting of her. I think the money is just the cherry on the cake for that one.”
Although Brooke married Boyd as a favour rather than for love, Allen thinks Brooke might have more than just a marriage of convenience on her mind. “I think she’s playing the long game,” she says. “I think she thinks that if she’s got a whole bunch of time with him where he won’t be able to see anyone else, she’ll basically force him to love her.”
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Brooke is often painted the villain thanks to her ruthless attempts to get ahead in life, but Beth says she can still understand her motivations.
“She’s a hapless villain,” she says. “I do understand her. We all know people who have broken up marriages or done things at work to make things easy for themselves, and they’re not terrible people, that’s just what people do.”
Brooke has definitely made her fair share of bad decisions, breaking up TK and Sarah’s marriage and stealing a dead man’s asthma research among them.
But Allen says where men are concerned Brooke has been chaste by Shortland Street standards.
“Actually she’s not as slutty as everyone else,” Allen says. “She doesn’t have any one night stands and everyone else seems to. That’s my one defence.
“She’s a terrible person, but in terms of men, men stay right away from her.
“I personally think they write the men a lot more savvy than men actually are in real life.”
After all Brooke’s ups and downs, Allen says she loves her character, at both her good and bad moments.
“It’s awesome,” she says. “It’s one of the most enjoyable characters I’ve ever played and I think one of the more enjoyable characters, to be brutally honest, on Shortland Street because you don’t know where she’s going to go.
“I mean, I’m probably biased. She can be funny and kind and she can also be a terrible villain and she can generally bugger everything up and have to start again.”
Is this the worst thing Brooke has done
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