Harry Thompson (previously Warner and Thompson-Warner) is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street who first appeared onscreen in May 2002. Being born on screen during the shows 10th anniversary, Harry has been portrayed by several child actors and by Xander Manktelow from 2023.
Creation and casting
In 2001 the shows producers decided to undergo a story that saw Toni Thompson (Laura Hill) give birth prematurely during the soap operas 10th anniversary. After the initial birth scenes, Callum Campbell-Ross was cast in the role due his small size resembling that of a premature baby and due to his family living close to the studio where the soap was filmed. It was decided the role of Harry would be recast in 2006 after Directors struggled to convince 3 year old Campbell-Ross to film "naughty boy" scenes where he broke a sandcastle. Henry Williams had auditioned for the character of a child patient, but was contacted to see whether he would be interested in playing Harry. In 2009 producers made the decision to recast the role so as to make way for new story directions and characterisation. The pitch was brought up during a meeting with directors and was originally met with hesitation. Reid Walker had previously auditioned for several different roles over several years and had never been called back. In 2009 he was contacted to audition for the recast of Harry. Prior to this, Walker had considered giving up on his acting dream but within one audition, he won the role. He debuted in September 2009 at the age of 9. During his first few years Walker was a minor member of cast, filming 2 scenes a week, but by 2014 he was a "senior" member and was filming 15 as well as having his own storylines. After having appeared on the show for over 8 years, Walker departed the show as a regular cast member to attend university. He continued to make guest appearances throughout 2017 and 2018.
In 2023 Shortland Street underwent a "new-era" of the show with 6 new characters arriving to "mix things up" as part of a medical trainee storyline. This saw Harry returning having been recast and Xander Manktelow assuming the role. Manktelow described portraying the adult Harry as, "really special" and "a lot of fun to be thrown into this world and have the ability to play with the history and drama around the Warner name.” Manktelow wanted to "put my own spin on the character" whilst giving Harry's history "justice".
Storylines
In 2001 Toni Thompson (Laura Hill) fell pregnant but it was not clear who the father was as she had been sleeping with both Adam Heywood (Leighton Cardno) and Chris Warner (Michael Galvin). She gave birth several months prematurely in May 2002 and it was not until Rachel McKenna (Angela Bloomfield) had the babies DNA tested that Chris was revealed as the father. In 2003 Harry went missing and it was soon revealed he had been kidnapped by a mentally unstable Donna Heka (Stephanie Tauevihi). The following year he was kidnapped again, this time by Toni's former flame, Logan King (Peter Muller). In 2004 Harry and Toni were kidnapped by Toni's deranged brother Dominic (Shane Cortese) in an attempt to kill Chris. Harry caused trouble for Chris and Toni the following year, when his tantrums climaxed in him biting Huia Samuels (Nicola Kawana) hand. Toni fled Ferndale in 2007 and took Harry with her but upon their return, the family scraped death in a dramatic car crash. Harry was devastated months later when Toni died and struggled to come to terms with Chris' succession of girlfriends – going so far as to force him to break up with Brooke Freeman (Beth Allen). In 2010 Harry struggled to cope with the revelation he had a brother, Phoenix (Geordie Holibar) but grew to love him. He clashed with Chris' girlfriend Rachel McKenna and pressed charges when she lightly slapped him. During Halloween 2013, Harry stopped breathing and lost his heart beat for 45 minutes after drinking a potion made of several garden weeds, including foxglove. However, after Chris used his chief executive officer position at the hospital to register prolonged CPR, Harry survived without brain damage. In early 2015 Harry met Pixie Hannah (Thomasin McKenzie) and after initial clashes, the two began to date. However Pixie was diagnosed with bone cancer and Harry supported her through the following treatment but was devastated when she succumbed to pneumonia shortly after the two had confessed their love.