Luke Durville - Creation and Casting

Creation and Casting

The character of Luke was created as a suspect in the Ferndale Strangler storyline that saw 5 characters killed off by a serial killer as part of a cast cull. Gerald Urquhart had auditioned numerous time for Shortland Street but it was not until he worked alongside casting agent Andrea Kelland in a stage production, that Urquhart was asked if he would like a role on the soap. During the production he had played a character named "Dex" and was subsequently cast as a character very similar on the show: Luke Durville. Urquhart was originally cast for 5 weeks. It was announced in August 2007 that Gerald Urquhart would be arriving as cooky new anaesthetist Luke Durville as part of the Ferndale Strangler storyline. Urquhart's first day filming was on location and he spent a majority of it as a background character, reflecting back he found it a, "relaxing introduction" and enjoyed, "having such an easy start." He made his first appearance on 14 September 2007. The producers enjoyed the character and continued to write for him, with Urquhart's contract continuously extended. He appeared for 3 months, making his last appearance on 13 December 2007. Urquhart returned to the role in October 2008 and continued in the role until May 2009. Urquhart reprised the role for several episodes in March 2010.

It was announced in August 2010 that Luke would once again be returning with more central storylines such as the arrival of his brother. Urquhart enjoyed the sporadical nature of his appearances, "One of the things I enjoy most about working at Shorty is the great big family that is the cast and crew. Each time I come back there are new additions and others have left. We all work hard as a team, fulfilling each of our roles, and we still manage to find time to have a laugh or two." Durville continued in the role through to April 2011. It was announced in August that Durville would be returning to the show and would be getting a love interest. His return saw Urquhart finally promoted to the main cast after 4 years of being credited as recurring guest. In August 2012 Urquhart was contacted by his agent to inform him he had been axed. After further meetings with producers, he was informed Luke was to die from a brain tumour in scenes set to be aired early in the new year. He filmed his final scenes in December and struggled to hold the secret over the Christmas break. Upon his final scene airing, Urquhart felt "relieved" and was "ready to move onto bigger and better things". Luke was killed off on the episode airing 30 January 2013.