Shortland Street podcast: Inside the life of a Shorty murderer

Shortland Street's first killer gives us a glimpse behind the scenes. Image / Shortland Street

Carla Crozier committed Shortland Street's first on-screen murder in 1995.

The character's bludgeoning of her husband Bernie Leach (Timothy Bartlett) rocked the nation and made actress Elisabeth Easther one of the most recognisable people in the country.

Now 26 years later, Easther takes a moment to look back on those horrific events and explains how they also had an impact on her life in the real world.

As part of a new Herald/iHeartRadio podcast series on the history of Shortland Street, the actress talks to host and fellow Shorty star Kura Forrester about playing a villain viewers loved to hate.

Easther also opens up about the pressure of dealing with the infamy that came with the role. It turns out that you don't really leave the role once the camera stops rolling.

In many ways, Carla Crozier set the scene for what was to follow. Murders have since been a key part of Shortland Street

From serial killers on a psychotic bender to the dodgy doctors and gang members covering up their crimes, the episode looks at the darkest storylines from the soap's past.

A new episode of the podcast will be released every Thursday for the next eight weeks. Subscribe to ensure you don't miss out on any of the action.

• You can follow the podcast at nzherald.co.nz, iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.