Shorty Street extra banned over plot leak

An aspiring actress has become the first extra to be blacklisted from Shortland Street after leaking storyline details about the soap's romance of the year to a fan website.

Liz Shaw has been banned from Shortland Street and all other South Pacific Pictures productions because she posted on the Street Talk website information she gleaned as an extra.

Shaw, who also appeared as a wannabe on NZ Idol last year, has defended herself, saying her leak was "a mistake, big deal".

The leak was one of the soap's big-gest potboiler storylines - the love triangle between Craig, Huia and Sarah - and producers are planning a promotional blitz for its climax this year.

Shaw was outed as the leaker after other Street Talk users turned on her for breaching confidentiality of the show which is watched by more than half a million fans.

Producer Jason Daniel said Shaw had been told she was not welcome back on the Shortland Street set or any other South Pacific Pictures production.

They also warned further action could be taken if she leaked further information but that the leaked storyline was not correct.

August, the agency that got her the work, has dropped her from its books.

Shaw gained some notoriety last year after her angry reaction on NZ Idol when judge Paul Ellis derided her dress sense and said she was "a talent-free zone". She also posed for pornographic magazine NZX last year.

The Weekend Herald could not contact Shaw, but on Street Talk she said she had not read the confidentiality agreement and felt her treatment was "a bit extreme".

She said she was "just buzzing out on being an extra on Shortland Street" and had leaked the storyline as "a favour to people".

"I am trying to launch a TV and radio career and to say I should be blacklisted ... so I made a mistake, big deal."

Shortland Street publicist Rachel Lorimer said the leak wasn't "a complete disaster".

"For the Street Talk people, it seems bigger than the Telecom leak. But it was still a serious matter.

"Our biggest assets are our characters and our storylines.

"The more surprising the show is, the better it does so we try to keep surprises very much under our hats."