Libby Jeffries

Olivia "Libby" Tippett (née Jeffries)[1] is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street who was portrayed by Fleur Saville from early 2006 to mid-2010. She returned in a guest appearance during the shows 20th anniversary.

Primarily a comedic character, Libby arrived as the final installment to the Jeffries family unit, headed by Yvonne (Alison Quigan) and Ian Jeffries (Jeffrey Thomas). She worked at the hospital as personal assistant to the Chief Executive Officer and her storylines often focused on her determination to find the perfect husband which often ended in disastrous consequences. Several instances included: nearly marrying George Barrington (Sean Lynch) who was a closet gay, Justin Salt (Heath Jones) who attempted to rape her, Kieran Mitchell (Adam Rickett) who was a criminal, Chris Warner (Michael Galvin) who left her for another women, Oliver Ritchie (Mark Warren) who kidnapped her and Isaac Worthington (Matt Minto) who was a serial womanizer. Libby ended up finding the perfect husband in best friend – Gerald Tippett (Harry McNaughton) and the two departed the show together in 2010.

Known for her comedic storylines and fashion sense, the character was highly praised throughout her run, winning "Best New Character" in the 2006 fan awards. She went on to place runner up in "Favourite Female Character" every year from 2006 to 2009.

Storylines
Libby arrived to Shortland Street in early 2006 where she refused to attend sister - Maia Jeffries' (Anna Jullienne) civil union. She later announced that she was to marry George Barrington (Sean Lynch). However hours before the ceremony, Tania (Faye Smythe) discovered George was gay and the marriage was called off. She took up the position of personal assistant to hospital CEO, Huia Samuels (Nicola Kawana). In 2007 Libby dated Kieran Mitchell (Adam Rickitt) however they broke up following Kieran straying from the relationship. Libby became best friends with Gerald Tippett (Harry McNaughton) and developed a crush on boss, Chris Warner (Michael Galvin). In 2008 she briefly dated Sunil Monish Anand) before she got back together with Kieran. The two got engaged however Libby broke it off in 2009 following the revelation of Kieran's true criminal colours. She started to date Chris, but lost him to nemesis - Gabrielle Jacobs (Virginie Le Brun). She had a rebound fling with Oliver Ritchie (Mark Warren) however he ended up using her as a science experiment, nearly killing her. Increasingly bored with life in Ferndale, Libby had a  brief fling with Isaac Worthington  (Matt Minto) in April 2010 before she left the country to start fresh in America. She returned 4 months later, having lost her job. She married best friend Gerald, granting her a greencard in America and left  once again. The two returned for Yvonne's  (Alison Quigan) birthday in 2012 but Gerald ended up in need of a heart  transplant following heart failure. He got through the ordeal successfully and Libby decided to separate from him. However the two reconciled and left Ferndale together.

Characterisation
Feisty and determined, Libby was satirically diagnosed by Saville with middle child syndrome, who stated; "She was striving for attention when she was younger and didn't really get it so she went off overseas and became an airline marketing manager."[2] Saville enjoyed playing Libby as she; "throws great tantys" and "She's a perfumed rottweiler,"[2] However Saville acknowledged that; "She has high expectations and unrealistic ideals."[2