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.

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.

[4] In 2008 Rickitt decided to stay as a regular fixture on the soap due to storylines involving romance with Libby Jeffries (Fleur Saville) and the reemergence of Kieran's 'dark side'.

"[7] It was announced in March 2010 that Kieran would be departing the show later in the year[citation needed] and that it would be an 'explosive event' and 'the biggest storyline since Joey'.

As things started to go well between him and Libby, Joey Henderson (Johnny Barker) was exposed as the Ferndale Strangler and Kieran tried killing him on a rooftop.

During the aftermath, Kieran and Libby reconciled in 2008 but he started to get involved with gangs and hired a hitman to murder business partner Ethan Pierce (Owen Black) after Kieran exposed him as a killer for a medical supplies company, Nessus Bio, and that Ethan had harvested bones for the company.

Kieran had a brief fling with Brooke Freeman (Beth Allen) and successfully avoided jail time for his gang affiliations.

In Shortland Street's 2009 Cliffhanger, Kieran accidentally hit and killed Morgan Braithwaite (Bonnie Soper) in his car whilst chasing Sean and framed Rachel McKenna (Angela Bloomfield) for the act.

[12] Scenes were aired featuring the characters throughout early 2009 and it soon was made clear that Sophie had developed a crush on the dodgy barman.

[12] Crossman commented, "I think her attraction to Kieran comes from an adult that she can trust, because her parents are both heavily unfaithful, and he's someone that she looks up to as a successful male.

Daniel ended up getting his friend Tupac Evans (Mauri Oho Stokes) to attack Kieran, knocking him unconscious with a crowbar.

[13] In December 2009, Kieran accidentally ran down and killed Morgan Braithwaite (Bonnie Soper) in his car and framed a drunken Rachel McKenna (Angela Bloomfield).

"[14] Sophie was left "terrified" when she learned from Kieran's ex fiancé, Libby Jeffries (Fleur Saville), that he was still involved in criminal activities.