His initial storyline saw the character embark on a same-sex relationship with paramedic Jamie Forrest (Karl Urban) much to the outrage of his family and co workers.

To widen demographic audiences, producers ensured Shortland Street featured family units so that several key characteristics could be met (middle aged parents, teenage children).

[1][2] In mid-1992 it was decided to expand on the established character, Michael McKenna (Paul Gittins) (who had appeared since the show's first episode), by introducing his family.

Jonathon's parents Alex (Liddy Holloway) and Michael (Paul Gittins) grew proud of their son after he landed the lead role in a play but were devastated when Rachel (Angela Bloomfield) read his diary and revealed he was gay.

He returned as a research assistant in 1996 and had an affair with Kane Taiaroa (Joe Folau) but departed to visit his father in the countryside following an HIV scare.

In 2001 when Rachel realised she was beginning to fall in love with Chris Warner (Michael Galvin) despite being in a relationship, she fled to visit Jonathon in Thailand.

After several months Jonathon began to tire of Gabrielle and broke it off, only to end up making moves on Daniel Potts (Ido Drent) unsuccessfully.

Upon arrival, Jonathon was described as "Drop dead gorgeous, highly intelligent, gifted athlete and all round Mr Nice Guy".

"[20] Upon the expansion of the McKenna family unit, producers sought to depict a hugely modern ideal and as such, several key ethical elements were written into the characters, such as eating disorders, mid life crisis', alcoholism, and writing the son to be a homosexual.

[4] Upon being cast, Hutchison was informed that Jonathon was in fact bisexual, though this was left ambiguous onscreen with the only true hint being a potential crush on the character of Joanna Jordan (Greer Robson).

[10] Hutchison thought the character helped break down the stereotypes surrounding homosexuality, stating in 1996: "The fact that Jonathan is gay is secondary.

Upon being asked to reprise the role in 2011, producer Steven Zanoski suggested they retry the lost storyline and Hutchison happily agreed.

[11] The storyline featuring Jonathon's crush and subsequent love affair with paramedic Jamie Forrest proved both controversial and ground breaking.

[1] Hutchison himself believed that his character helped break down stereotypes surrounding homosexuality and enjoyed playing the HIV storyline due to its meaty content.

[10][22] Following weeks of criticism, scenes aired in June where Jonathon stated he was bisexual, contradicting comments made in past years.