New Zealand soap Shortland Street is returning to the UK for the first time in 15 years as the hit series finds a new home. The medical drama follows the staff of Shortland Street Hospital in the fictional Auckland suburb of Ferndale - starring Michael Galvin as long-running character Dr. Chris Warner. Shortland Street last aired on now-defunct channel Sky's Living Loves back in 2010 and has not aired in the UK since. The soap originally aired on ITV back in 1993 before moving to various different channels including CITV, ITV Granada and eventually Sky Living.

Fifteen years later, the soap is returning to our screens on STV Player - the free streaming service which will air three new episodes every Monday from 17 February. The soap teased that since its annual festive break, Shortland Street has been revamped for the new year with new characters, fresh storylines and "even more heart-thumping drama". Speaking about the show's return to British screens, star Michael 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…".

Meanwhile, STV's Managing Director of Digital, Richard Williams, said in a statement: "In New Zealand and several other international territories, Shortland Street has become a cultural phenomenon, so it’s a major coup for us to be able to make STV Player its UK home. "The show is a magical blend of ‘just-one-more-episode’ drama, good-natured humour, warmth and topicality – everything we know STV Player viewers look for when choosing their next TV obsession.".

He added: "With Doctors concluding last year, there’s a gap in the telly market for a regular medical drama. We think Shortland Street has all the ingredients to not only fill that void, but also find its own distinctive place in viewers’ hearts among the British and Australian soaps they already know and love.". Shortland Street follows in the footsteps of Australia's Neighbours, which was revived in the UK by Amazon's FreeVee after being axed by Channel 5 in 2022.