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Meredith Flemming is a fictional character on Shortland Street who first appeared in 1992. Portrayed by Stephanie Wilkin.
Biography[]
Meredith was a doctor at Shortland Street who often butted heads with her fellow doctors, and Shortland Street CEO Michael McKenna. This was largely due to her strong sense of ethics which she always put first over protecting the clinic's reputation or financial bottom line. She also frequently expressed frustration at the "boys club" in the medical profession, often feeling looked over or shafted for men.
Storylines[]
Meredith is an early victim of Chris Warner's womanizing ways in the first week of Shortland Street when he kisses her without her consent, to her surprise and anger. Due to this, and Chris's reputation, Meredith becomes a voice of warning for Alison Raynor when she begins dating him shortly afterwards.
Meredith's first controversy as a doctor at Shortland Street is when she reluctantly prescribes the pill to a young girl, Libby Hammond, in Episode 0012. Libby tells Meredith she's 15, but it's later revealed when her furious mother, Sue Hammond, confronts Meredith that Libby is actually 13. Sue threatens to sue Meredith and the hospital. Meredith sticks to her guns and eventually uncovers in Episode 0022 that Libby's father was sexually abusing her, after initially suspecting her step father, Gary Stevens. This caused tension between Meredith and Marjorie Neilson, a friend of Sue and Gary's.
Meredith's first romance on the show is with fellow doctor, Hone Ropata.