Tom Neilson
| Tom Neilson | |||||||||||
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| Shortland Street character | |||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Adrian Keeling | ||||||||||
| Duration | 1992–93 | ||||||||||
| First appearance | 25 May 1992 | ||||||||||
| Last appearance | 11 November 1993 | ||||||||||
| Introduced by |
Caterina De Nave (1992) Brian Lennane (1993) |
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| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||
| Occupation | Paramedic | ||||||||||
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| Wife | Marj Neilson (1961–93) |
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| Sons |
Patrick Neilson Darryl Neilson Damien Neilson Stuart Neilson |
| Stepdaughters | Jane Fitzgerald |
| Grandsons | Robert Neilson |
| Granddaughters | Melissa Neilson |
Tom Leslie Neilson is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street. Part of the original cast, Tom was portrayed by Adrian Keeling from the shows first episode until May the following year when the character starred in a high profile storyline where Tom went missing. He returned later in the year to finish the storyline off.
The character debuted as the patriarch of the original family unit on the show, the Neilsons. He was a paramedic alongside Sam Aleni (Rene Naufahu) and worked at Shortland Street clinic, where his wife Marj (Elizabeth McRae) fronted reception. Tom had four sons, Patrick, villainous Darryl (Mark Ferguson), Damien (Mark Ferguson) and original teenage heart throb Stuart (Martin Henderson). The character's yearlong run saw the character participate in numerous storylines, including teenage pregnancy, rape, drug abuse, illness and a storyline that saw Tom become a missing person.
The storyline that saw Tom go missing became hugely popular, so much so that Tom was eventually brought back to finish off the storyline. It is now remembered as one of the most iconic storylines in the early days of the soap opera.
Adrian Keeling was cast as Tom, the patriarch of the Neilson family unit. Keeling resigned from the role after his initial 1-year contract expired and the character was written off as running away from his family. This was the writers original pitch to get rid of the character, but public interest was so high, the character returned in November only to be killed off once and for all.
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