Tania Jeffries (previously Weston) is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street. She was portrayed by Faye Smythe from 2005 to 2010, with the character starring in numerous high-profile storylines alongside her on screen family. The character returned in May 2012 as part of the show's 20th anniversary.
Biography[]
She is a nurse at Shortland Street Hospital. Her family moved from their quiet country orchard to the bustling environs of Ferndale when her father, Ian Jeffries was diagnosed with the debilitating Motor Neurone Disease. He then had news that this was a misdiagnosis and he had Kennedy's Disease.
Tania Jeffries is the younger sister to popular nurse Maia Jeffries, PA Libby Jeffries and daughter of hospital receptionist, Yvonne Jeffries. Tania's brother, Hamish Flynn, who she did not know because her mother had adopted him out at birth, made contact with her mother. He had briefly worked at the hospital for Huia Samuels. It turned out that her long-lost "brother" was really a con-man, out to scam her parents for their last penny. However Maia and her sisters did eventually learn of their mother meeting the real Hamish.
And after landing a job at the hospital, she immediately sparked a connection with Vinnie Kruse, then Tania began dating Mark Weston but found out he had cheated on her, leading her to move on with Anthony Richards. Unfortunately, Anthony supplied her with prescription drugs, and she briefly struggled with addiction before he fled Ferndale. Soon after Tania reconciled with Mark, and the two got married. However, when Maia, desperate to have a child, asked Mark to donate sperm, Tania reluctantly agreed at first. After the attempt failed, she refused a second try, but Mark went behind her back and impregnated Maia.
The weight of the secret became too much, leading Mark to cheat on Tania again. Although Maia and her wife, Jay, reconciled, things took a tragic turn when Jay revealed the truth to Yvonne. Unable to trust Maia anymore, the couple split for good, and Jay was later murdered by the Ferndale Strangler. The revelation of Mark’s betrayal ended Tania's marriage, and she harbored deep resentment toward Maia, only forgiving her after helping deliver Maia’s son, Jay "JJ" Jeffries, in the back of her car. Eventually, Mark and Tania divorced.
Tania became friends with Joey Henderson during the 'Ferndale Strangler' storyline and came dangerously close to becoming one of his victims. After telling Alice Piper that Joey was just a "boy" and that she wasn’t interested in dating him, Joey overheard and was revealed as the Ferndale Strangler. He prepared to strangle Tania with IV tubing in her apartment, but when she accidentally cut her finger with a knife, Joey panicked and put the IV line away, narrowly sparing her life without her even knowing it. Later, he stalked her at a shopping mall, hoping to kidnap her by offering her a ride. However, Yvonne picked her up and took her up north for Christmas, causing Joey to miss his chance again, and Tania unknowingly avoided death.
Tania dated both Kip Denton and Hone Ropata before entering an abusive relationship with gang member Kingi Te Wake. After Kingi left her, Tania began dating Ben Goodall, only to lose him to her mother. Ben was assaulted by a gang and later diagnosed with a brain hemorrhage, leaving him brain-dead. After a series of arguments between Yvonne and his sister Anita over his condition, his life support was turned off a week later. Tania was devastated by his death, but it ultimately brought her and Yvonne back together. She had a brief rebound with Isaac Worthington, but left him when he cheated on her. Eventually, Tania fell in love with Rafe Durville and left for Australia to start a clinic with him. She returned briefly for Yvonne’s birthday.
References[]
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/838018/610778 Template:Jeffries
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