Shortland Street's Christmas cliffhanger will feature blood-drenched chaos at a wedding.
Love is in the air as surgeon Boyd Rolleston prepares to tie the knot with flirty doc Harper Whitley. But it is a prescription for trouble when Boyd's roguish rival Dr Drew McCaskill shows up and celebrations are plunged into turmoil.
As the Herald on Sunday's exclusive picture shows a distraught Harper's wedding dress ends up covered in blood.
Producer Simon Bennett promises action on a grand scale for TV2's 90-minute special on December 14, dubbed "Red Wedding". "There is romance, intrigue and tragedy," Bennett said. "It's the biggest cliffhanger I've worked on in 20 years."
Ria Vandervis, who plays Harper, said her character causes trouble.
"When Drew turns up she starts having doubts," she said.
Accompanying the action, award-winning opera trio Sol3 Mio sing the classic Santa Lucia in a cameo scene.