Dr. Sarah Marjorie Potts is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street, who was portrayed by Amanda Billing from her first appearance in September 2004 until the character's on-screen death in August 2014.

Arriving as a love interest for established character, Craig (Renato Bartolomei), Sarah became the centre of a high-profile storyline when it was revealed her young brother Daniel (Jarred Blakiston) was in fact her illegitimate son. Sarah and Craig's romance carried on for four years and climaxed in what has been described as "Shortland Street's steamiest ever scene." Sarah's romance storyline's again took a high-profile role with her pairing to TK Samuels (Benjamin Mitchell) in 2006. Over the next 8 years the two were involved in a "will they-won't they" situation that involved the two getting married, divorced, having a child, and engaged for a second time. Public interest was high for the romance and boosted the show some of its highest ever ratings; the Prime Minister Helen Clark also expressed her interest in whether the two would end up together. In 2008 the character was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in a storyline producers intended to use to explore the long-term effects of the illness and help educate New Zealanders.

The character of Sarah has seen high acclaim for the show and Billing's acting. She has been nominated and won multiple awards including a nomination in the New Zealand Television Awards for "Best Actress". The characters diagnosis with multiple sclerosis has seen huge acclaim, with sufferers and health advocates praising the show for bringing the illness to such a high-profile programme.

Creation and casting Amanda Billing previously auditioned for the roles of lesbian nurse Maia Jeffries and the ill-fated Avril Luchich before she was offered the role of Sarah in early 2004. Sarah made her debut on 14 September 2004. The character was described as "a good looking, vivacious and driven woman in her early 30s" and was "liked, easy-going and good-humoured". In the casting of Sarah, it was suggested that producers were carrying on the tradition of placing talented unknowns in starring roles. Sarah was written off the show in late 2010 when Billing took a four-month break to star in a play. Her exit storyline was purposefully ambiguous so that the audience was not aware Sarah would return. Billing struggled to keep the secret from the public and was hugely relieved when Sarah returned onscreen in March 2011.

In late 2013 producers decided to retire the character of Sarah. They decided it was best to kill her off as then the character of TK Samuels could develop further romantic connections without fans opposing to it due to Sarah still being alive. Billing was informed in March 2014. She described the writing off process as one that had much "stuff that plays into it" and noted some of it she understood, whilst much of it she did not. She hoped that Sarah would get a "dramatic" write-off that would involve much location shooting. One of Sarah's final scenes that saw her say goodbye to her toddler daughter Tillie (Leila Eketone) proved difficult to film due to the cast and crew crying; a scene Billing described filming as "deliciously painful". Billing finished filming in July and was celebrated with a large cast party. The publicity department worked hard to ensure the departure would not be leaked to the press following previous leaks on the departures of Teuila Blakely (Vasa Levi) and Beth Allen (Brooke Freeman), something Billing found hard to keep a secret. The character was killed off during scenes airing on 18 August 2014.

Storylines Sarah arrived to Shortland Street and won a job working in ED under Craig Valentine (Renato Bartolomei). They dated but broke up when it was scandalously revealed that Sarah's brother Daniel (Jarred Blakiston), was in fact her son. Despite being attracted to Craig, she married Andrew Solomon (Paolo Rotondo) but their marriage was annulled after Andrew left Sarah to be with his ex-girlfriend and children. Sarah briefly dated a schoolboy and later conman Hamish (Phil Brown). She continually found herself attracted to Craig and started to date him before the two broke up due to his anger problems. They made up and dated again but broke up when Craig cheated on Sarah with Huia (Nicola Kawana), impregnating her. Huia's cousin TK Samuels (Benjamin Mitchell) comforted her through the ordeal and when Craig readmitted his love, Sarah was faced with a tough decision between Craig and TK. Sarah finally made a decision and in December 2006 asked TK to marry her. The couple married in mid-2007 and later decided to have kids. However, in 2008 after being diagnosed with Multiple sclerosis the couple suffered a shock when they learnt Sarah's baby would be born with a deathly illness and it was terminated. In 2009 Brooke Freeman (Beth Allen) manipulated Sarah into thinking TK was unhappy and the two separated. She rebounded to Maxwell Avia (Robbie Magasiva) but the two broke up in 2010 and Sarah had a one-night stand with TK shortly before leaving to work in America.

Sarah made a surprise return to Shortland Street in March 2011 and announced she was pregnant with TK's child, a girl. Sarah planned to get back with TK and clashed with his new fiancé Roimata Ngatai (Shavaughn Ruarkere). In July 2011 Sarah gave birth to daughter, Matilda Mareikura "Tillie" Potts (Nathan Anderson) after leaving TK's wedding. Sarah began to date Daniel's (Ido Drent) carer Zac Smith (Mike Edward) and accepted more administrative positions at the hospital. However, after 8 months of dating, Sarah discovered Zac had been having a long-term affair behind her back with her friend Vasa Levi and they broke up. In 2013 Sarah lost her job to her friend Harper Whitley (Ria Vandervis) and ended up reconciling with TK after nearly 4 years apart. Their relationship was put to the test when Sarah accidentally reversed over Tillie in her truck, but the two remained together. In mid 2014 Sarah began researching a killer virus and ultimately ended up getting engaged to TK once again. However, in August, upon finally discovering the illness' cure, Sarah's MS relapsed and she contracted it herself and died after a tearful farewell to TK and Tillie. In 2023, Sarah, Roimata and Mo Hannah would appear to TK in spirit form, willing him back to life after he'd been shot and taken off of life support.

Character development

Relationships

Craig Valentine The character of Sarah was originally written into the show as a potential love interest for established character, Craig Valentine (Renato Bartolomei). Sarah's first scene involved her crashing into Craig's car, driven by his son Jake Valentine (Calum Gittins). Upon learning Sarah was trying for a job in his department, Craig opposed to her job application, nonetheless, CEO Andrew Solomon (Paolo Rotondo) hired her. Throughout Sarah's early scenes, she often interacted with Craig and a sense of chemistry and potential romance was established between them. Billing offered an opinion as to why the two had such good chemistry saying; "I think you can find someone physically attractive but hate their guts, someone can irritate you heaps but you still find them a lovable rogue. The two characters are a lot alike, and that's why they spar. They're both headstrong and think that they're right more often than not." Following the two characters first kiss, the cast and crew reportedly fell quiet in awe. Billing agreed saying: "We have monitors through the whole building and everyone was going, 'Bloody hell!' Their chemistry is quite extraordinary," The two broke up due to Sarah's son Daniel (Jarred Blakiston) and Sarah became engaged to Andrew but after believing he had died in a plane crash, Sarah realized she was in love with Craig. Nonetheless, when she found out Andrew had survived, she committed to marry him. Billing believed Sarah was: "being a chicken .... She does love Andrew and she does have feelings for him but it's not really what she wants in her heart of hearts. There's a real risk that she is making a mistake, she will regret it and they will break up." Bartolomei believed Craig would still love Sarah even if she were married, "from Craig's point of view, he really loves (Sarah), whether he can have her or not. I think his love for her is so great that he would love her even if she married Andrew and lives happily ever after." Even Rotondo believed Craig was a better suit, "Andrew hasn't been set up as the ideal guy for her so definitely I think she should be with Craig." Despite this, Sarah and Andrew married.

In 2006 Sarah and Craig finally got together in what has been described as "Shortland Street's Steamiest ever scene." However, the two constantly argued and Craig cheated on Sarah with Huia Samuels (Nicola Kawana), impregnating her. Bartolomei believed Sarah would be devastated when she found out about the child and stated: "He would be aware that it was going to be very difficult for Sarah but he would tell her what he was going to do and hope that it was going to work out. I think he will stand back and let things play their natural course, if that meant Sarah was no longer in his world... then so be it. I think he will stand back and say, 'well Sarah, how are you going to behave in this situation? If you are going to behave stupidly then let's call it quits'." The two stayed together following the revelation of the baby but Huia ended up dying in an explosion whilst pregnant and Sarah broke it off once again. At the end of the year, Craig admitted his love before a short holiday but Sarah had a difficult time deciding between him and TK Samuels (Benjamin Mitchell). Billing described the conundrum, saying: "Sarah is nervous about Craig’s return because she knows that he will be coming back to a situation that will be very different from the one that he left. In a lot of ways Sarah and Craig are still the hero couple but she is scared of him being angry and is worried that she is going to lose him."< Despite Billing labelling the couple as having; "dynamic that is high voltage", she also believed; "They’re not very good at being a couple together because they haven’t figured out how to work as a team." Sarah ended up choosing TK over him. On her wedding day to TK in 2007, Sarah decided to call off the marriage, fearing she still loved Craig. She visited Craig but he insisted on driving her to the wedding himself. Sarah came back from her honeymoon early to help Craig, causing a feud with Craig's girlfriend Alice Piper (Toni Potter). In 2008 Craig diagnosed Sarah with multiple sclerosis. Upon resigning, Bartolomei commented on Craig's relationship with Sarah, stating: "Craig and Sarah are your classic unrequited love story. That does get revisited but not in a stereotypical way. There is a great deal of resolution at the end for everyone concerned." On screen Craig resigned from Shortland Street and admitted he would always love Sarah before the two shared a moment. He was murdered later that evening. Sarah sung an emotional song at his service, highlighting his personality and kindness. Billing believed that for several years, Craig was Sarah's one true love and was touched when she saw a hashtag '#ReunitedwithCraig' on Twitter concerning Sarah's death in 2014.

TK Samuels