Weekend Rewind: NZ's Favourite TV Couples

Unsurprisingly, our television history is filled with plenty of tumultuous love stories, many of them strategically written to keep us glued to our sofas. The following represent some of our favourite screen couples.

For ten years they battered, braised and bickered their way around their studio kitchen, and into our hearts. Famous for their on-screen spats and hefty dollops of innuendo, Hudson and Halls turned cooking into comedy, as well as award-winning television.

The on and off-screen couple ("are we gay - well we're certainly merry") ruled the ratings until the mid 80s, when their show was surprisingly cancelled. This great documentary explores the relationship, careers and ultimately tragic deaths of the much-loved pair.

She was the bombshell clinic receptionist, he the mild-mannered muffin man. Nothing could come between them - or could it? Nearly two decades since they last graced our screens, Kirsty and Lionel remain firm Shortland Street favourites. Theirs was a love story with it all - a cliffhanger wedding (thanks Stuart Neilson), a bout of amnesia, breakups, makeups,...and finally, divorce after narrowly escaping death in a plane crash.

From the opening moments of Outrageous Fortune (a fairly raunchy bedroom scene) it was clear that the relationship of Wolfgang and Cheryl West was no ordinary thing. Six series saw them tested with jail time (both) affairs (both) and Wolf's long-term disappearance, but even once living new lives, nothing could break their bond to either other. Can't wait to see the details of their teen courtship revealed in the next series of Westside.

Moving from the west to the North Shore. Launched in 2009 Go Girls followed the lives of a group of five 20-something friends. Among them were party-girl lawyer Amy, and down-to-earth mechanic Kevin. Episode one made it clear that Kevin had held a torch for Amy pretty much since birth. While she remained blissfully unaware for much of series, after five seasons, multiple near misses, plenty of hook ups with other people, and at one stage a complete change of core cast, they were finally united in the show's final episode.

Ever wondered what it would be like to be parented by a warrior princess and a good-guy Aussie dad? Such was the fate of little Stanley, the baby star of a series of ASB bank ads during the 90s. Stan's loving parents were played by Lucy Lawless and Erik Thomson (Packed to the Rafters), offering him arguably age-inappropriate financial advice as he tried to play with his toys. Still, something about their earnestness and chic beige-on-beige 90s home makes this on-screen couple charmingly nostalgic viewing 25 years on.

While no longer together and happily settled with new partners, we can't ignore the fact that Ali Mau and Simon Dallow were for many years one of New Zealand's favourite on (and off) screen couples. They first appeared together in Newsnight, TV2's foray into late night news for a younger audience, which was condemned as "designer news" before it had even started.

You can see more TV Couples here in NZ On Screen's Spotlight.