Popular TV soap returns after a decade on completely free streaming service

A much-loved soap has finally returned to UK TV screens with new episodes airing for the first time in over a decade. Shortland Street, which follows the staff and patients of the eponymous hospital, landed on STV Player – the service that also brought Brookside back to screens – on Monday. The medical drama, set in the fictional Auckland suburb of Ferndale, is a national institution in New Zealand and is the country’s longest-running series, having run continuously since 1992.

The much-loved soap, which made a household name of Riverdale star KJ Apa, has had various homes on UK TV through the years, airing on a number of ITV regions in the late nineties and early noughties, before enjoying a run on Living in 2010. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video. Up Next. After being dropped by both services, it was unavailable in the UK for over a decade before Amazon Freevee acquired the 2021 and 2022 seasons back in 2023 before it shut down.

STV, however, is the first ever UK steaming service to offer brand new episodes of Shortland Street, in line with New Zealand broadcast, which means that UK fans can enjoy all the Shorty drama in real time. Three new episodes landed on STV Player on February 17, with three set to drop each Monday going forwards. Shortland Street was somewhat revamped for 2025 following its annual festive break, which means that this is pretty much the perfect opportunity for new viewers – or lapsed fans wanting to start watching again – to jump in.

If you’re contemplating giving it a go then check out the recap video above, narrated by Cleo Atwell star Madeline McCarthy, which will fill you in on everything you need to know before Shortland Street’s arrival next month. Michael Galvin, the longest-serving soap actor in New Zealand having played Dr. Chris Warner since Shortland Street’s first episode, said: ‘Kia ora, UK! I’m absolutely thrilled to hear that Shortland Street is coming to your shores.

‘This little show of ours has become such a huge part of the culture here in New Zealand over the last 33 years, and to know that it’s now going to be part of the British soap landscape alongside legendary shows like Coronation Street and Emmerdale is a real honour. ‘Strap yourselves in, because if there’s one thing I can tell you about Shorty, it’s that drama is never more than a heartbeat away’.

When news of the soap’s return was announced earlier this month, fans were delighted with one writing on X: ‘I’m ridiculously excited that #ShortlandStreet is FINALLY coming back to the UK properly!’. Another wrote: ‘Shortland Street returning to the UK is brilliant news.. very much missed it when it was taken away in 2010. The fact we will be getting brand new episodes too is great..’. STV Player is becoming something of a go-to for soap fans, having brought Brookside back to our screens after two decades, with five episodes of the classic Channel 4 serial streaming every Wednesday.

Brookside, which was controversially axed in 2003, launched on the service back in February 2023 and, after just one week, it became the fastest show to ever reach 1 million streams on the service, and has since been streamed over 4 million times. In addition to Brookie, beloved Irish soap Red Rock has also been added to STV Player in its entirety, allowing audiences the opportunity to relive all the drama from the beginning.

Shortland Street arrives on STV Player from Monday February 17, with three episodes streaming every Monday. This article was originally published on 3 February 2025. If you’ve got a soap or TV story, video or pictures get in touch by emailing us soaps@metro.co.uk – we’d love to hear from you. Join the community by leaving a comment below and stay updated on all things soaps on our homepage. Arrow MORE: Free streaming services to try after Netflix’s ‘irritating’ price hike.