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.