Libby Jeffries
| Libby Jeffries | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Shortland Street character | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Fleur Saville | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 2006–10, 2012, 2014- | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 2 February 2006 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Former; returning | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Jason Daniel (2006) Steven Zanoski (2010, 2012) Simon Bennet [2014] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Olivia "Libby" Tippett (née Jeffries)[1] is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street who was portrayed by Fleur Saville from early 2006 to mid-2010. She returned in a guest appearance during the shows 20th anniversary.
Primarily a comedic character, Libby arrived as the final installment to the Jeffries family unit, headed by Yvonne (Alison Quigan) and Ian Jeffries (Jeffrey Thomas). She worked at the hospital as personal assistant to the Chief Executive Officer and her storylines often focused on her determination to find the perfect husband which often ended in disastrous consequences. Several instances included: nearly marrying George Barrington (Sean Lynch) who was a closet gay, Justin Salt (Heath Jones) who attempted to rape her, Kieran Mitchell (Adam Rickett) who was a criminal, Chris Warner (Michael Galvin) who left her for another women, Oliver Ritchie (Mark Warren) who kidnapped her and Isaac Worthington (Matt Minto) who was a serial womanizer. Libby ended up finding the perfect husband in best friend – Gerald Tippett (Harry McNaughton) and the two departed the show together in 2010.
Known for her comedic storylines and fashion sense, the character was highly praised throughout her run, winning "Best New Character" in the 2006 fan awards. She went on to place runner up in "Favourite Female Character" every year from 2006 to 2009.
Creation and casting
Fleur Saville joined Shortland Street in early 2006 as the role of Libby, the middle child in the Jeffries family.[2] The role was originally a guest role, however producers loved the character so much, she was signed to a core cast role.[2] Producer Jason Daniel wanted Libby to embody the role of the Sex and the City characters, without the sex.[2] In 2010, though Saville wasn't sick of the role, she wished to portray more characters and quit.[3] 3 months later, Saville was offered to return to aid the exit of Harry McNaughton, who portrayed Gerald Tippett. Saville was told her character and Gerald were to marry and she found the storyline too good to turn down.[4] She appeared for 2 weeks before leaving once again, making her last appearance on 24 September 2010. In May 2012 Libby returned for the show's 20th anniversary alongside the rest of the Jeffries family.[5] Saville enjoyed returning and said being back was; "like returning home! It was fantastic to see all my friends in the crew and cast and hear what everyone has been up to since I left 2 years ago."[6] The character stayed on screen for two weeks and departed on 28 May 2012. Saville enjoyed the brief reprise and stated; "I’m just happy Libby hasn’t died – I love her!"Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).
Throughout her run on the show, Libby won and was nominated for many awards in the annual Throng Shortland Street fan awards. Upon her arrival in 2006, Libby landed the prize for "Best New Character" and "Funniest Moment" while winning runner up for "Favourite Female Character".[7] In 2007 Libby again placed runner up in "Favourite Female Character" but won "Best Dressed" and placed runner up both in "Funniest Moment" and "Best couple" (for her relationship with Kieran Mitchell.[8] In 2008 Libby won "Best Dressed", "Funniest Moment" and "Best Couple" (again for Kieran) and again placed runner up in "Favourite Female Character" and "Best Hair".[9] In 2009 she won "Best Dressed" and "Best Hair" and once again placed runner up in "Favourite Female Character".[10] In her final year, 2010, Libby won the award once again for "Funniest Moment" and came runner up for "Character you'd most like to bring back (non dead)", losing to husband Gerald Tippett.[11]
In the 2006 awards, one fan notably mentioned Libby saying; "Libby is brilliant, I only wish there was a whole show about her! Libby is the only member of the Jeffries family that I wouldn't be tempted to push off a life-raft...Libby is awesome she is a good laugh."[7]
References
- ^ Shortland Street Trivia Quiz Book. 2007. ISBN 978-0-14-300717-3.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b c Barry Hill, Rebecca (1 June 2006). "Shortland Street's drama queen". The New Zealand Herald. APN News & Media.
- ^ Coursey, Michelle (July 2010). "Fleur Saville's tearful farewell". New Zealand Woman's Weekly. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
- ^ Nealon, Sarah (26 August 2010). "Libby's shock return". New Zealand TV Guide.
- ^ "Coming up in May". Shortland Street. Television New Zealand. 31 April 2012. Archived from the original on 31 April 2012.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=and|archivedate=(help) - ^ "Look who's back!". Shortland Street. Television New Zealand. 10 May 2012. Archived from the original on 10 May 2012.
- ^ a b "Shortland Street Fan award winners 2006". Throng. December 2006. Retrieved August 2011.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Joey makes a killing in the Shortland Street fan awards". Throng. December 2007. Retrieved October 2011.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ Cunliffe, Regan (1 December 2008). "85000 votes determine Shortland Street fan award winners". Throng. Retrieved October 2011.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Shortland Street Fan awards 2009 - Winners". Throng. December 2009. Retrieved October 2011.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Shortland Street fan awards 2010 - winners". Throng. December 2010. Retrieved October 2011.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help)