As Nicole and Maeve get set to wed, Nicole worries that Leanne will ruin her big day. If you think Shortland Street’s latest storyline involving sex trafficking in Ferndale is far-fetched, think again. “I was a bit taken aback by the extremity of the storyline,” says Chye-Ling Huang, who plays paramedic Theo on the show. “I was like, ‘Really. Are we just trying to make a drama out of nothing?’ So I started doing research and found all this very unpleasant information.” Supplied Chye-Ling Huang says Shortland Street sex exploitation storyline deserves to be treated with gravity. Information such as a 2019 American State Department report that describes New Zealand as a hot spot for sexual exploitation or that only last year, a Hawke’s Bay man was convicted on slavery and sex-trafficking charges.