Mona McKay

Mona McKay
Shortland Street character
Portrayed by	Judy Rankin
Introduced by	Jason Daniel (2008) Steven Zanoski (2010, 2011)
Duration	2008, 2010, 2011
First appearance	16 September 2008 episode 4074
Last appearance	17 October 2011 episode 4857
Classification	Past; recurring
Family Sons Callum McKay Gordon McKay Grandsons Hunter McKay Granddaughters Sophie McKay

Mona McKay is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street. She is portrayed by Judy Rankin and first arrived in mid 2008 as the mother of established character Callum McKay (Peter Mochrie).

Mona, sometimes referred to as "Mona the moaner", is shown to be opinionated and have a fiery temper. Despite this she shows a great love to her family, son Callum and grandson Hunter McKay (Lee Donoghue). However she has also exhibited feelings of spite towards granddaughter Sophie (Kimberley Crossman). Her protectiveness over her family has led to her clashing with their partners including Justine Jones (Lucy Wigmore), Rachel McKenna (Angela Bloomfield), Kieran Mitchell (Adam Rickitt) and Jill Kingsbury (Natalie Medlock).

Creation and Casting

It was announced in September 2008 that Callum McKay's mother, Mona would be arriving to the soap and was desribed as; "a mind as sharp as a tack - and a tongue to match." Actress Judy Rankin who had previously played Suzannah Bechamp in 1995, Samatha Hindmarsh in 2001 and Rhonda Stone in 2003^[1] wore a wig to the audition which Rankin believed helped her score the role. She appeared in the storyline that she arrived to attend funeral of daughter-in-law Justine Jones. She appeared for 4 weeks before leaving.

It was announced in February 2010 that Mona would be returning to the soap to attend granddaughter Sophie McKay's wedding to Kieran Mitchell.^[2] She appeared for 2 more weeks before leaving again. It was announced in August 2011 that Mona would be again returning to cause strife between son Callum and new, much younger girlfriend Jill.^[3]

Storylines

2008-2011

Mona arrives unexpectedly in September 2008 having learnt her daughter in law Justine (Lucy Wigmore) had been murdered. She shows great affection for grand son Hunter (Lee Donoghue) but a sharp coldness to Sophie (Kimberley Crossman). She also takes a liking to Hunter's potential girlfriend Morgan (Bonnie Soper) and encourages their relationship. When she learns of Justine's fake death she is disgusted and deeply upsets Sophie. Sophie later finds Mona's hair is a wig and Mona is suffering from an illness.

Mona arrives again unexpectedly in February 2010 to attend Sophie's marriage to Kieran Mitchell (Adam Rickitt). When she learns of Kieran's age, she opposes to the marriage. She also opposes to Callum's (Peter Mochrie) flatmate Rachel (Angela Bloomfield), as she is an alcoholic and apparent killer of Morgan. However Rachel finds a collapsed Mona and takes her to hospital, making Mona admire her. It is revealed Mona has cancer and is on serious medication. Despite protesting, Mona attends Sophie's wedding but is appalled to learn Kieran may have killed Morgan. She later decides to stay permanently in New Zealand but after sensing Callum is in love with Rachel, moves back to Australia so he can move on with his life.

Mona arrives unexpectedly yet again in August 2011 and is disgusted to learn Callum has taken up with much younger women, Jill Kingsbury (Natalie Medlock). She reveals she lost all her money to a conman she fell in love with and announces she is moving to New Zealand long term, starting to socialize with the potential con artist Derek Hurlihy (David Weatherley) much to the concern of Callum. When Callum continues to refuse to pay for a expensive retirement village for Mona, she returns to Australia to live with Callum's brother Gordon.

Character development

Characterisation

Mona is shown to be particularly hostile to the various female characters that feature in Callum's life, and she epitomises the archetypal "mother-in-law from hell". One of Mona's most notable feuds is with her Callum's girlfriend, Jill. Animosity between the characters begins in 2011, when Mona is disgraced to learn that Jill has moved on from grandson Hunter to his father instead. Mona states her opinion as "Pretending that she's anything more than a midlife crisis is just that - pretending". However the pair became friends in September, but Jill still shows her annoyance towards Mona. She also interfered with Callum's relationship with Rachel McKenna, however, her return in 2011 establishes that they are still friends, despite the fact Rachel cheated on Callum with Chris Warner. Her battle-axe nature causes her to become disliked by several other characters such as Libby Jeffries, Brooke Freeman and Vasa Levi.

Mona remains a family-oriented character throughout the course of the show. A "fiercely loyal, but overbearing mother"; sheltering and taking on the major responsibilities of her children and frequently commenting the importance of family. She is portrayed as a traditionalist, with beliefs—the first to criticise, but also the first to defend her children, often interfering in their issues and causing rifts in their relationships. Early storylines between Mona and her two teenage grandchildren, Hunter and Sophie, show her to be a more favorable and supportive towards Hunter, exhibiting feelings of spite towards Sophie fearing similarities between her and her unwanted daughter-in-law, Justine.

References

1. ^ "Judy Rankin". Auckland Actors. unspecified. http://www.aucklandactors.co.nz/actors/judy-rankin/view-details.html. Retrieved September 2011. 
2. ^ "Shortland Street: Monday 22 February to Friday 26 February". Throng. February 2010. http://www.throng.co.nz/shortland-street/shortland-street-monday-22-february-friday-26-february-2010. Retrieved September 2011. 
3. ^ "Shortland Street on TV2". Throng. August 2011. http://www.throng.co.nz/shortland-street/shortland-street-on-tv2-83. Retrieved September 2011.