Kieran Mitchell  Kieran Mitchell is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera "Shortland Street" who was portrayed by British actor Adam Rickitt through numerous high-profile storylines from early 2007 to mid-2010. The character arrived to the soap as a mysterious love interest for Claire Solomon (Emily Robins), only to go through a storyline that saw Kieran discover he has a brain tumour, memory losses and is really a pimp from Thailand. His criminal past sends Kieran to the forefront of the show during a storyline which saw Claire and 4 other characters murdered by a psychopathic serial killer who later turned out to be Kieran's flat mate. Kieran's story arc's would often see him portrayed as an antagonist but the character also had numerous romances and light storylines, including two engagements to Libby Jeffries (Fleur Saville) and a short lived marriage to schoolgirl Sophie McKay (Kimberley Crossman). Becoming the owner of the hospital's local bar The I.V, Kieran found himself performing numerous criminal deeds, culminating in 2009 when he accidentally hit and killed good friend Morgan Braithwaite (Bonnie Soper) in his car. The character's criminal past finally caught up with him in 2010 and he was killed, falling off a cliff while fighting with an ex-enemy in the show's first ever 90-minute episode. The character of Kieran Mitchell had been planned for years but producers were struggling to find a suitable casting choice and subsequently the character was pushed back several times. Adam Rickitt was set to visit New Zealand to work on a film and after talking with a friend who worked in casting at "Shortland Street", Rickitt was offered the role. Producer Jason Daniel stated, "It just so happened that we were introducing a new character who was a perfect fit for Adam, and after reading the character profile he was very keen to play the role". Rickitt was given opportunity of creative freedom as the characters story lines were not fully formed. After learning about the character and his upcoming storylines, Rickitt decided, "I’ve got to do this". He signed a 3-month recurring contract. In February 2007 the casting was made public and the character was announced to be a "mysterious English traveler". The character was promised to have a dark past and several romance story lines. Rickitt stated, "The character I'm playing has so much potential and I am really excited about getting to know him". Kieran made his debut on screen on 15 March 2007.