Look who's back! KATRINA'S SHORTY HOMECOMING

Getting a new life on the soap was just what the doctor ordered

- Fleur Guthrie

It’s one plot twist that actress and designer Katrina Hobbs didn’t see coming – rejoining Shortland Street 22 years after saying goodbye to New Zealand’s most famous fictional hospital.

She originally played police officer Janet Maxwell and joined her older siblings Chris and Rebecca on screen in 2000, before her character dated Rangi, lost a leg and left the show.

But this month, the bubbly 50-year-old returns to our screens as Liz Griffiths, the contentious mother of Dr Tom Griffiths (played by Mattias Inwood), who “stirs things up” around Ferndale.

“It’s kinda crazy to be back!” an upbeat Katrina tells the Weekly during a break in filming, with gorgeous pup Riley sitting by her feet.

“To get such an out-of-the-blue call from my agent saying, ‘They’re interested in seeing you for this role.’ I was like ‘What?!’

“When I left Shorty, I thought, ‘Okay, I’ve done that and now I’m moving onto something else,’ and presenting a variety of cooking and travel programmes was it for a while.

“But it’s a lovely treat to get back into something so familiar,” smiles Katrina, who walked on set for her first day, whispering to herself, “Everyone’s so young.”

“It’s kind of like riding a bike. Initially you’re like, ‘Whoa, this bike is really fast and I’m not sure I can stay on,’ then after a few weeks you’re more confident.”