Luke Cunningham

Infobox soap character
name = Luke Cunningham
series = Home and Away
portrayer = John Adam
first = January 17, 1993
Episode 1147
last = July 27, 1994
Episode 1518
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gender = Male
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occupation = Schoolteacher
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siblings = Bill Cunningham (brother)
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color = Television colour|Home and Away
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Luke Cunningham was a fictional character in the Australian soap opera "Home and Away".Portrayed by John Adam, he was a regular on the show from 1993 to 1994.

Character history

Luke arrived in Summer Bay at the beginning of 1993, having taken a job as the new maths, biology and geography teacher at the high school.Luke had a somewhat unconventional appearance for a teacher and the appearance of a long-haired stranger who appeared to spend his time busking on street corners at the caravan park was enough to make more conservative residents like Alf Stewart and Michael Ross resolve to drive him out of town as soon as possible.They had nearly succeeded when Luke's new colleague Roxanne Miller informed them who he was and Michael had to hastily talk him into staying.He backtracked so far that he ended up instructing his foster daughter Sally Fletcher, who had befriended Luke, to address him as "Mr.Cunningham".Luke quickly told her that they could stay on first name terms outside the class room...but at school she had to call him "sire".

Luke proved something of an inspirational teacher, even to those not actually at the school, giving Sam Marshall saxophone lessons and helping Damian Roberts with his training.He also had a hand in getting both Angel Brooks and Sarah Thompson enrolled at the school.

Luke and Roxy quickly formed a friendship which developed into more when they started dating.They encountered an obstacle early on when Roxy's sister Imogen arrived and proved to be insanely jealous of Roxy.When she made a play for Luke and he turned her down, she began going to extreme lengths to split them up, pulling a series of stunts designed to make either Luke or Roxy look bad to the other one.Ailsa Stewart eventually cottoned on to her game and Imogen left town.

Luke had sibling problems of his own when his mother was hospitalised after a fall and his teenaged brother Bill came to live with him.Bill was mentally disabled as a result of an accident when he was three:he had fallen into a river and nearly drowned and although their father resuscitated him his brain had been starved of oxygen for too long.Luke felt intense guilt about the incident since he had meant to be watching Bill and this caused him to have an overprotective attitude towards him, strongly disapproving of his friendship with Finlay Roberts because he felt it risked exposing Bill to feelings he wouldn't be able to cope with.Luke's method for keeping the pair apart alternated between lying to Bill and coming down hard on the pair and resulted in Bill running away.After he was found, Luke apologised to him before deciding it would be best for him to stay with an aunt.The fact that Luke spent so much time focussing on Bill also meant the end for him and Roxy-she felt they had drifted apart and ended things.

Luke and Roxy still often found themselves working together, such as when they were put in charge of the school play.Despite three months work, disaster struck on the opening night when Shane Parrish and Tug O'Neale ended up coming to blows on stage and the play had to be cancelled.

Not long after, Luke and Bobby Marshall accepted a boat ride from Adam Cameron at the Bay's carnival.Seconds after Luke warned Adam he was going too fast, the boat hit a log and all the occupants were thrown.Luke suffered cracked ribs whilst Bobby sustained a severe head injury and was later declared brain dead.Luke made it clear that he would tell the police Adam was at fault, prompting him to make a full confession. When Bobby's husband Greg left town soon after, he rented the house out to Luke and Roxy.This effectively made them responsible for Tug, who had been living with Greg and Bobby.

Living in close proximity to Roxy caused Luke's feelings for her to resurface, especially when he learned she had told an old friend he was her boyfriend.He kissed her but she made it clear she didn't see him like that any longer.It probably wasn't the best time for him to gain a new nemesis in the form of Nathan Roberts, who had started work as a cleaner at the school.Luke sensed Nathan was trouble so Nathan falsely claimed Luke had hit him and then goaded him into grabbing him in front of witnesses.Angered by the lack of support, Luke resigned.His name was cleared when it was revealed Nathan had been stealing from the school but Don Fisher refused to reinstate him, saying he would have to apply for the job with the other candidates.He was upset when another candidate, James Healy, was awarded the post and even more so when he started dating Roxy.He was relieved when James was offered a better job after only a short time-he might not get Roxy back but at least he had a job again.

When Greg announced he was selling the house, Luke and Roxy planned to bid for it but then Roxy decided to move out anyway.Instead Irene Roberts bought the house and agreed to let Luke and Tug stay on as tenants.Luke was shocked when shortly after Irene wandered into his bedroom in the middle of the night and worried she was attracted to him.When he tried to broach the subject with her, he only succeeded in convincing her he was after her until Pippa Ross realised Irene had been sleepwalking.

When Irene interfered in his love life once too often, Luke decided to get his own back by inviting Don for dinner and convincing Irene he was interested in her...until Roxy pointed out Don would probably fire him if he found out.Luke tried to put a stop to the disaster but then Fin found out what was going on and forced him to come clean.Fortunately, Luke and Irene managed to sort things out.Luke was also one of the first to realise Tug was dyslexic and persuaded him to go back to school, although Tug turned down his offer of private tuition since it would mean having a live-in teacher, taking classes with special needs expert Beth Armstrong instead.Luke was also the first to suspect Irene was psychic and had her take a test to find out.

When Don's daughter Rebecca took a job at the school, Luke seemed interested in her but the fact Don disapproved of her having a relationship caused him to steer clear.When they did eventually get together, Luke quickly decided he wasn't actually all that keen and broke things off.Although Rebecca ultimately forgave him, Don was furious that she had been humiliated and began making things hard for Luke at school, undermining his authority in front of his class.When Luke received news that Bill had fallen ill and he needed to go and look after him, he handed in his resignation.Don was initially triumphant but when he learned the truth he apologised to Luke and they parted on good terms.