Who's who in new TV drama 'Mercy Peak'

Nicky Somerville (Sara Wiseman)

Nicky Somerville is a doctor in her late 20s. She's bright, articulate and gets on well with her patients. But she tends to act on the spur of the moment and often says things that are better left unsaid.

Even though science is her safety zone, Nicky can't help but respond emotionally and this gets her into trouble. She is a romantic and longs for a sense of peace and purpose.

Living in the city, Nicky has a successful medical career and what appeared to be a serious, long-term relationship with senior consultant Tom Strachey. But when Nicky finds out Tom has been cheating on her, she decides to escape life in the big city and move somewhere quiet where life is simpler.

She arrives in the small town of Bassett (population 5058 and growing) to start a new life and a new job at the Mercy Peak Health Centre. What she finds is a boss who doesn't want her, questions over the cause of an accident and a town of women determined to bare their breasts.

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William Kingsley (Jeffrey Thomas)

William Kingsley is in his 50s and is a family doctor in the old-fashioned sense. Through his role at the local hospital he has seen patients throughout their lives.

William was raised in Bassett when families stayed together and bonds of love and duty mattered. His family faced its own share of hard times when his father was killed in the Second World War, leaving his mother without much money. What little she had, she put into the education of her children.

After leaving school, William attended medical school and on finishing his training, he worked until he had the skills to return to work at Bassett Hospital. From there, he worked his way up to medical superintendent.

William has seen a lot of change in Bassett over the years, and a lot of it he doesn't like. Despite this, he sees he has a clear leadership role to play in the community.

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Alistair Kingsley (Craig Parker)

Alistair is the only child of William and Marilyn Kingsley and is the apple of their eye. To his father's disappointment, Alistair isn't a natural leader, nor the kind of guy to knock them dead on the sports field.

It was preordained that Alistair would be a doctor and, being the sort of person who doesn't upset apple carts, to medical school he duly went. But he balked when he was supposed to return to join the family practice.

Instead he pursued his real interests and was doing research in Germany when duty finally caught up with him. His mother died and Alistair came home to find his father an embattled man struggling with grief, trying to do his best for his home town and being pilloried for it.

Alistair couldn't leave his father alone and felt this was the chance to forge a new adult relationship of respect with his father. But this still hasn't happened.

Alistair feels as if he's been catapulted into some kind of perpetual adolescence, where he has to smoke dope at the bottom of the garden and can never really talk to his father. That's why working with Nicky is such a relief. He can be more like himself.

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Louise Duval (Alison Bruce)

Louise is in her early 40s and is the health centre's practice manager. She is intelligent, even-tempered and capable of holding 16 things in her head. She is sociable and likes a good time but she always puts her own needs last.

Louise met her husband Ross Duval (played by Geoffrey Dolan) at a nursing social. The couple made a lot of sacrifices so Ross could get his pilot's licence. This paid off when he got a job as a topdressing pilot.

Louise's job as practice manager involves running everything from budgets and pay to buying the milk and bread on her way to work, as well as organising food for patients.

Louise has two sons, Brett and Liam, who are 19 and 16. Liam is a continuing worry to Louise. He's a nice kid but more interested in odd causes than school work. Brett is studying engineering at university.

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Ken Wilder (Tim Balme)

Ken is the local cop and is in charge of a small constabulary. Easygoing and laconic, he believes a lot of problems can be sorted with a bit of chat.

Ken loves Bassett with total enthusiasm. He's from a tiny rural area which no longer exists. He would move heaven and Earth to make Bassett a better place and, if there are sausages to be sizzled or buckets to be shaken, he's there with bells on.

Ken would dearly love to get married and have kids, but finding a partner has been difficult. This is partly because of the lack of eligible women in Bassett, but it's not for want of trying.

When Ken likes a woman, he asks her out and continues to ask, even when rebuffed.

Ken wants to find someone who will need him, someone who will see him for the hero he really is.

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Kieran Masefield (Renato Bartolomei)

Kieran is in his mid-30s and is a vintner. He often comes across as arrogant and intense but cares little what people think. He is proud of having got where he is today by his own merits and he is fiercely protective of what is his.

Kieran was a bright kid from a working- class family. While at university he started working in a restaurant as a dish-washer, and it was there he discovered his passion for wine. He saved and studied and worked to go overseas to train as a wine-maker.

Then he met Amanda (Katie Wolfe), who was part of a fast and wealthy set. Kieran couldn't believe he could cut it with someone as bright and successful as Amanda and, despite her parents' objections, they married young because she was pregnant. They moved back to Bassett to establish their vineyard on some land that had belonged to Amanda's grandparents.

For a while, things were fine but with their second child, Amanda suffered post-natal depression. She also attempted suicide twice. It was a bad time but it brought Kieran closer to the kids and this bond remains.

After this, Amanda was up and down. During a good patch, she started a cafe at the vineyard, offering food and wine-tasting. They had more cash but the marriage was failing. When Kieran found out she was having an affair he was furious but he refuses to be manipulated by Amanda.

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Cliff Tairoa (Tamati Te Nohotu)

Cliff Tairoa is a social worker in his late 20s. He is attractive and intelligent and he knows it. Cliff is proud of his ability to mix it with all sorts and moves smoothly from one world to another, dealing with bureaucracy, doctors, iwi and clients.

Cliff works from several offices: the Plunket rooms, the marae, and Porkie's Bar at the Bassett Hotel. His wages are partly paid by the District Health Board and partly by the local iwi.

Cliff sees himself as something of a maverick who can't be pigeon-holed.

He gets frustrated with iwi politics and enjoys needling William Kingsley and other Pakeha big cheeses.
Cliff's family are from the area and he feels fortunate to have had an OK life, and not be some statistic.

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Dana McNichol (Miriama Smith)

Dana is in her early 20s and is a nurse at the health centre. She is smart, good fun and easily distracted.

Despite the setbacks in her life, she bounces back and gets on with it.

Dana wants a good home and security for herself and her son.

Born and raised in Bassett, Dana was the only daughter to a working-class family. Her mum is Maori and her father was Pakeha.

At 13, Dana was chubby and the target of much abuse. She coped by serving it back and becoming the class clown. After some serious dieting, Dana squeezed into a size 10 for her high school ball and showed them all by scoring Gary Fry, the captain of the First XV.

After the ball, she went to Arohanui Lookout with Gary and a bottle of Cold Duck. The next day was kind of a blur, but with OK grades, Dana was thinking it might be time to get out of town and do something else.

As she was thinking about nursing, she found she was pregnant.

When her baby Jordan was 2, Dana reapplied for nursing school and, with her mum looking after the child, she scraped through tech.

After working out of town for a while and not really enjoying it, Dana jumped at the chance to work as a nurse back in her home town. So here she is, back at home and working at the new hospital for Dr Kingsley.