Carla Crozier

Carla Leach (also Crozier) is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street, who was portrayed by Elisabeth Easther from early 1995 to mid 1996. The character debuted as the sister of established character Ellen Crozier (Robyn Malcolm) and gained notoriety as the show's first ever on screen murderer.

Carla Crozier
Shortland Street character
Portrayed by	Elisabeth Easther
Duration	1995–1996, 2021
First appearance	6 May 1995
Introduced by	Gavin Strawhan
Classification	Former; recurring (returning)
Profile
Occupation	Nurse
Family Mother Glenys Crozier Sisters Ellen Crozier Husband Bernie Leach (1995–1996) Nieces Minnie Crozier Rose Crozier-Kearney

Creation and casting

Carla was created as the estranged sister of Ellen Crozier and Elizabeth Easther was cast in the role.[1] Easther had just graduated from drama school and relished playing a human as her only other television role was that of a dinosaur in an Australian children's show.[1] Easter signed a 1-year contract and knew the character would be short-term due to the projected storyline ahead. She departed the soap following the completion of this contract.[1] Carla made her last appearance in July 1996. Due to the characters psychotic nature, Easther struggled to get work for several years and was even rejected after being cast in a nappie commercial.[1] In 2020 it was speculated that Easter would reprise her role.[2]

Storylines

Carla arrived to visit her estranged sister, Shortland Street Head of Nursing Ellen (Robyn Malcolm) and soon got a job at the hospital. The two sisters reconciled when Ellen nursed Carla after she purposefully fell off a cliff but her true nature soon became apparent when she implied to her co-workers that Ellen had pushed her. Carla instantly clashed with fellow nurse Tiffany Pratt (Alison James) due to jealousy of her beauty, relationships, and career. She began to blackmail Tiffany when she discovered her Hepatitis C diagnosis whilst nursing her. Ellen was shocked when Carla began to date her ex-boyfriend Bernie Leach (Timothy Bartlett) and the two soon eloped in what appeared to already be an unhappy marriage. Still jealous of Tiffany, Carla spiked her drink leading to her near-death in front of a truck. This lead many at the hospital to turn against Carla and in an act of revenge, she sabotaged a surgery on Tiffany and nearly killed her, framing surgeon Johnny Marinovich (Stelios Yiakmis). Bernie and Carla's relationship continued to grow toxic due to his alcoholism and her manipulative manner. To ensure he would not leave her, Carla faked a pregnancy and subsequently a miscarriage after a minor car-crash whilst teaching her niece Minnie (Katrina Devine) to drive. When Bernie discovered Carla was unable to have children since her teenage years, he angrily assaulted her and was arrested; Carla went to stay with her mother.

The hospital soon saw the return of Carla and she instantly caused trouble by manipulating an abusive parent to drive drunk, causing him to crash into the hospital and kill Nurse Carmen Roberts (Theresa Healey). Carla began a relationship with former Paramedic Sam Aleni (Rene Naufahu) whom was on a downward spiral and turning to alcohol. When Bernie returned after being acquitted of assault, Carla promised she would divorce him and take all his money. The two were injured when an earthquake hit Ferndale and a bloodied Bernie insulted Carla, resulting in her murdering him with a candlestick, blaming the quake. Not many were fooled by the act but Ellen stood by her sisters strong calls of innocence. Scared Ellen would expose her, Carla drugged her sister's pizza with marijuana - attempting to fail her mandatory medical at the hospital. Eventually Tiffany and Ellen unearthed evidence Carla had in fact committed the crime, and Carla confessed. Carla instantly retracted her statement scared of losing Sam, causing blame to shift to him and the Police publicly arresting him. Whilst locked up, Sam's grandfather died leading to the couple breaking up in the aftermath. Carla returned home and slit her wrists. Devastated, Ellen had her sectioned in a local psychiatric unit and Sam was released as an innocent man. Whilst visiting her sister in the unit, Carla attempted to murder Ellen. After realising that the institution was not the best option for Carla, she was taken to live with their mother.

Reception

The character is remembered as the show's first ever on screen murderer, thus giving her an icon status.[3][4][5] The New Zealand Woman's Day magazine listed Carla as the 23rd best character of the soap's first 25 years.[6] Carla was well received by critics with the character being named in an article by Michelle Hewitson for The New Zealand Herald, the 7th best character to feature on the show.[7] Hewitson explained her choice, stating: "she was our very own psycho-bitch; our very own multiple-personality sufferer (all of them psycho-bitches.)"[7] Ana Samaways also praised Carla, calling her a "beaut" when referring to a typical "run-of-the-mill nasty who gets away with it. A character who is related to someone and who makes viewers swing from hatred to understanding."[8] Easther herself did not enjoy her acting throughout her stint and believed she was simply happy to be in the role.[1] The episode airing on 31 May 1995 that saw Tiffany finally confront Carla is the highest rated episode of Shortland Street of all time.[9]

References

1. Good Morning. 22 May 2012. Television New Zealand. TV One.
2. Simich, Ricardo (24 October 2020). "Spy: Which Shorty St villain is returning to wreak havoc in Ferndale?". The New Zealand Herald.
3. Philpot, Chris (22 May 2012). "Shortland St: greatest moments, #20-11". stuff.co.nz. Fairfax Media.
4. "Carla murders Bernie during the quake". Shortland Street. Television New Zealand. 2004. Archived from the original on 14 October 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
5. Trevett, Claire (29 October 2005). "Blood in the street lifts soap's death toll to 14". The New Zealand Herald. APN News & Media.
6. "Shortland Street's 25 most memorable characters". Woman's Day. Fairfax Media. 23 May 2017.
7. Hewitson, Michelle (16 May 2002). "Shortland Street: The 10 best characters". The New Zealand Herald. APN News & Media.
8. Samways, Ana (28 January 2002). "Soap needs to lighten up to retain its suds". The New Zealand Herald. APN News & Media.
9. Hunkin, Joanna (20 May 2017). "Shortland Street ratings uncovered: The stories that gripped New Zealand". The New Zealand Herald. APN News & Media.