Daniel Potts (Shortland Street)
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Daniel Joshua Potts is a fictional character in the soap opera
Shortland Street ''Shortland Street'' is a New Zealand Prime time, prime-time soap opera centring on the fictitious Shortland Street Hospital. The show was first broadcast on TVNZ 2 on 25 May 1992 and is New Zealand's longest-running drama and soap opera, be ...
. The role was originated by actor Jarred Blakiston from 2004 to 2005 and again briefly in 2007 before
Ido Drent Ido Drent (born 27 January 1987) is a South African-born actor working and living in Auckland, New Zealand. He is best known to television audiences as Daniel Potts in the long-running soap opera ''Shortland Street''. Early life Drent was born ...
took over in 2009. The character departed in mid-2012. The character arrived to the show in a high-profile storyline that saw Daniel revealed as his "sister"
Sarah Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch, prophet, and major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a pious woma ...
's (
Amanda Billing Amanda Billing (born 12 April 1976 in New Zealand) is a New Zealand actress best known for her role as Doctor Sarah Potts on New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street''. Biography Billing grew up in Masterton, and spent her university years in ...
) illegitimate son. Daniel departed in 2005 to live with his newly discovered father
Tim Coombes The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street'' in 2005, by order of first appearance. Hugo Carmont Hugo Carmont made his first appearance in February 2005 as the old friend of Mark ...
(Millen Baird) before returning briefly in 2007 to attend Sarah's wedding. His return in 2009 saw Daniel adopt a more antagonistic role that saw Daniel participate in a bullying storyline. Renowned for his intellect and computing skills, Daniel storylines went on to feature internet entrepreneurism, government introduced bootcamps, abortion, homelessness and brain trauma.


Creation and casting

The character was originally played by Jarred Blakiston from 2004 to 2005 and again for a guest role in 2007. When producers decided to reintroduce the character, the decision was made to recast him and
Ido Drent Ido Drent (born 27 January 1987) is a South African-born actor working and living in Auckland, New Zealand. He is best known to television audiences as Daniel Potts in the long-running soap opera ''Shortland Street''. Early life Drent was born ...
won the role. He stated, "It's been such a great experience and challenge already. Everyone at Shortland Street has been incredibly supportive and encouraging. It's very close knit and there's a great vibe ... I feel so lucky to be where I am." The character returned onscreen in March 2009 in a storyline that was set to accurately portray bullying on screen and Drent promised the storyline would, "have an element of romance to it." Drent returned to the show after a 10-week break in mid-2010. In 2012 Drent quit the role to pursue job opportunities in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. He commented: "For me, broadening myself as an actor, it was imperative that I move on, even if it meant losing a bit of security and taking a big risk." When reading Daniel's final scripts, Drent was brought to tears at the conclusion of his hard work and how the storyline resembled his own life. Daniel made his last appearance on 17 September 2012. Drent was asked to reprise the role in 2014 for his onscreen mother's funeral but was unavailable.


Storylines

Sarah Potts (
Amanda Billing Amanda Billing (born 12 April 1976 in New Zealand) is a New Zealand actress best known for her role as Doctor Sarah Potts on New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street''. Biography Billing grew up in Masterton, and spent her university years in ...
) was delighted upon her arrival to Ferndale that she could be closer to her brother, Daniel, but it was shockingly revealed to Craig Valentine ( Renato Bartolomei) that Daniel was in reality, her illegitimate son. Daniel struggled with the news and, when he moved in with Sarah, clashed with her partner,
Andrew Andrew is the English form of the given name, common in many countries. The word is derived from the , ''Andreas'', itself related to ''aner/andros'', "man" (as opposed to "woman"), thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "brave", "strong", "c ...
(
Paolo Rotondo Paolo Rotondo is a New Zealand director, writer and actor of stage and screen. Biography Rotondo was born in Napoli, Italy, from a Neapolitan father and New Zealand mother of Irish descent. He grew up in Italy and moved to New Zealand when he ...
). In 2005 Daniel finally met his dad Tim (Millen Baird) and after Tim's initial hesitation, the two grew close. Despite Sarah's reluctance, Daniel eventually went to live with his father in Samoa. He returned in 2007 for Sarah's wedding to TK ( Benjamin Mitchell) but got into trouble when he stole Sarah's car. Daniel returned to live with Sarah in 2009 and after falling in with a bad crowd, began to date
Sophie McKay Sophie Juliette McKay is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera '' Shortland Street'' who was portrayed by Kimberley Crossman from 2006 to 2011 as part of the McKay family unit. She made a guest appearance in 2012. Creation and casti ...
(
Kimberley Crossman Kimberley Frances Crossman (born 1990) is a New Zealand actress, author, presenter, producer, writer, director, dancer, stand-up comedian and cheerleader who is best known for her role as Sophie McKay on the New Zealand soap opera '' Shortland ...
). His illegal business of selling stolen goods saw his friend die in a car crash and Daniel was sent to bootcamp and later took up boxing, something that nearly saw him beaten to death by a gang. Sophie left Daniel and in 2010 he began to date humanitarian, Loren Fitzpatrick (Sophia Johnson). However Loren fell pregnant and the two broke up when she had an abortion with Sarah's help. Daniel briefly became homeless before he forgave his mother. He and Sophie reconciled but in 2011 Sophie left him to travel the world. Daniel briefly dated
Paige Munroe The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street'' in 2011, by order of first appearance. Peter Morrison Peter Morrison was Tracey's ( Sarah Thomson) second oldest brother. He arrived ...
(Rachel Foreman) and became a computer software engineer before
Shane Shane may refer to: People * Shane (name), a masculine given name and a surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with this name * Shane (actress) (born 1969), American pornographic actress * Shane (New Zealand singer) (born ...
(Jason Hood) claimed Daniel's work as his own. In December Daniel was assaulted over the head whilst stopping
Hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...
(
Lee Donoghue Lee Thomas Donoghue (born 12 October 1983) is a New Zealand actor and right-wing political activist. He is best known for his role as Hunter McKay on New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street''. He was a candidate in the 2023 New Zealand gener ...
) from robbing a pharmacy and he developed serious brain damage. He dated Lana Jacobs (
Brooke Williams Brooke Williams (born 3 January 1984) is a New Zealand actress, best known for her role as Jennsen Rahl in ''Legend of the Seeker'', Aurelia in '' Spartacus: Blood and Sand'' and Eva in '' The Almighty Johnsons''. Early life and education Wi ...
) but his memory loss proved too severe and the two broke up. In August a lucky night at the casino saw Daniel win $1,000,000 and after trying to win Lana back, he left Ferndale to travel the world. In 2014, TK called Daniel and told him the news of Sarah's death. Daniel could not attend Sarah's funeral as his pregnant girlfriend Lisa had been hospitalized.


Character development

Daniel was initially portrayed as a quiet and well mannered child but the revelation that
Sarah Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch, prophet, and major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a pious woma ...
(
Amanda Billing Amanda Billing (born 12 April 1976 in New Zealand) is a New Zealand actress best known for her role as Doctor Sarah Potts on New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street''. Biography Billing grew up in Masterton, and spent her university years in ...
) was his mother sent him on a downward spiral, Blakiston commented: "It's taken him a long time to come to terms with Sarah being his real mother. It's led him to do and say things he doesn't necessarily mean." Following the revelation of the secret, the storyline saw Daniel's school work suffer and he even got into fights at school. Blakiston believed it was how Daniel dealt with the secret: "He knows Sarah will do anything for him, that she really wants to show she cares. If he doesn't get what he wants, he punishes and manipulates her, and even though she tries not to, she always gives in." Upon his return in 2009, Daniel was described as an "articulate and intelligent teenager" and was shown to be interested in computers, sport and making friends. However it was soon clear Daniel had little understanding of his mother's
multiple sclerosis Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease resulting in damage to myelinthe insulating covers of nerve cellsin the brain and spinal cord. As a demyelinating disease, MS disrupts the nervous system's ability to Action potential, transmit ...
and planned to use it as an excuse "to party and enjoy himself as much as possible." Drent explained that Daniel "holds a lot of resentment" towards his mother and "He's willing to go to pretty dramatic lengths to win a crowd and I think that surprises people." Drent believed he and Daniel had small similarities, he stated: "I'd say we're both fairly focused on what we want, both determined and both pretty cheeky!" In a September 2011 interview with
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, Drent expressed concern at the new-found protagonistic characteristics of his character, stating; "you can't be too good in a drama, otherwise there's no room for you!"


Reception

The casting of Drent in the role came as a surprise to many fans of the show due to his muscular physique contrasting Blakiston's petite shape. However Drent's portrayal of Daniel has been said to having made a "big impression" on the soap. Meanwhile, some critics have been less favourable towards Drent's acting, with
Hugh Sundae Hugh Sundae (born Ian Hughes) is a New Zealand broadcaster and journalist. He is best known for his radio work at University of Auckland campus radio 95bFM, as a television presenter, and as the digital entertainment producer at the New Zealand H ...
of ''
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'' in 2010, stating that newcomer Geordie Holibar ( Phoenix Raynor) had already outdone Drent in his acting capabilities. Chris Philpot, a television commentator on
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, jokingly stated that he would willingly kill off Daniel. In the ''Ferndale Best of 2013 awards'', Daniel was voted runner up for "Character you want to Return", losing only to his mother.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Potts, Daniel Shortland Street characters Television characters introduced in 2004 New Zealand male characters in soap operas