Tom Cunningham

Infobox soap character
series =Hollyoaks



name= Tom Cunningham
portrayer=Ellis Hollins
born=Bda|1999|12|31|df=y
death=
occupation=Student
first = 31 December 1999
creator =
parents = Gordon Cunningham (father)
Helen Cunningham (mother)
siblings=Max Cunningham (halfbrother)
Lewis Richardson (halfbrother)
Jude Cunningham (halfsister)
Dawn Cunningham (halfsister)
Cindy Cunningham (halfsister)
Mandy Richardson (halfsister)
nieces/nephews = Bethany Cunningham
Holly Cunningham
Grace Hutchinson
Ella

Thomas "Tom" Cunningham is a fictional character in the long-running British Channel 4 television soap opera "Hollyoaks".

He is played by child actor Ellis Hollins.

Description

A sweet, sensitive boy, his short life has already been full of trauma. He is the only child his late parents Gordon and Helen had together, although they already had six adult children between them. Tom was born on Millennium Eve 1999 after his mother went into labour when giving half-sister Mandy a driving lesson.

torylines and Characters Background

Losing his parents and home

After Tom's parents died after a car accident, Tom lived for a short while with Mandy, but she couldn't deal with him and gave to Max. Max and Max's best friend OB raised him in the Cunningham family home, but Tom accidentally burnt the house down. He was nearly taken into care, and when he overheard Max saying he might be better off in care, he ran away. Several days later, Mandy found him near his parents' graves.

Clare

After Tom became an uncle when Mandy gave birth to Grace in 2005 and Max got together with girlfriend Clare, for a while it looked like Tom's life was going to be happy and settled. However, Grace died aged just seven months old, and cold, manipulating Clare didn't turned out to be the nurturing mother-figure he needed. Tom quickly began to see through Clare's motherly act, especially when he overheard her saying 'naughty' things on the phone about her dalliance with Sean Kennedy, Louise's estranged husband. He also overheard her talking to her father on the phone (whom she said was dead), and innocently questioned her about both of these incidents. She told Tom he was hearing things, and shouldn't play games, but when he pressed the issue, she began to orchestrate the situation to make it look like Tom was going through a naughty stage, complete with lying and tantrums. She drew on the walls, poured water on Tom's bedsheets and blamed it on Tom misbehaving. A besotted Max immediately believed her, which upset Tom even more. Her plan to discredit Tom in case he spilled the beans apparently worked. When Max wanted to accompany Clare to London for her fertility clinic appointment (she was really visiting the New Zealand embassy with plans to abscond with her new husband's money), she panicked. Knowing Max would never leave Tom if he was ill, she suggested they go out for one last family meal before they took Tom to the babysitter's. When no one was looking, she sprinkled an unknown substance over Tom's food, and when he took a bite, he was violently ill. Max told Clare to go on the London trip alone, and she had again manipulated Tom to get her own way.

After Max had a heart attack, Clare stopped giving him his medication. He became more and more ill, and she took the two brothers to a cabin by the lake for Christmas, planning to let Max die there. When Max learned what she was doing and tried to leave with Tom, she changed tactics, locked Tom in the car, and threw his jacket into the water, telling Max that Tom was drowning. Tom had to watch as Max struggled to stay afloat. O.B. saved the day, and Clare was arrested. OB moved back into the flat. However, Clare was soon back on the scene, and picked Tom up from school to help scare Max into signing over the Loft, which he soon did.

Tom did a little modelling to get some money for a climbing trip. He started to enjoy his new model status a little too much and behaved like a diva. When he was missing too much school, Max ended his career.

Care

After a few months break from Clare, Max had to deal with her demands for money. Max refused, and Clare was further incensed when Tom sprayed her repeatedly with a water gun. Tom had fallen while helping Max at work, and the plaster on his head inspired Clare. Clare told Tom that he had germs and had killed his parents and Grace, and said the same would happen to Max. When the social worker arrived, Tom yelled that he didn't want to be near Max. Max was devastated, especially when Tom refused to see him during visits.

Soon after around this time Clare was pushed off the balcony of the Loft, and Max was a prime suspect as he had publicly threatened to kill her the night she was pushed. However, when it was proved by Tony and Dominic that Max had nothing to do with the attack on Clare, Max finally turned the tables on his ex-wife and manipulated her condition in order to force her to tell social services the truth about what she said to Tom. Unsure of who had tried to kill her (it later turned out to be Justin Burton) and fearing for her safety, Clare realised she was left with no choice but to admit the truth to social services and to Tom. Tom was released from care and moved back in with Max and OB.

Tom's first crush

When Steph picked Tom up from kids club Tom tried to get Steph's attention by doing star jumps. This did not work until he fell down and hurt his knee. Steph then went to help him and brought him back to OB From then on Tom was smitten with Steph he even tried to impress her by looking smart with his shirt and new hair and even put a flower in her bag. OB set up a dinner for two for Max and Steph, but little Tom presumed it was for himself and Steph. Steph and Max clicked onto Tom's first crush and Tom was put off when Steph talked about kissing. Though at the safari park when Steph and Max shared their first kiss he did jealously tell them to stop.

teph, Simon

Tom was unhappy when Steph began dating Max, and regularly threw fits about her presence in their lives. Steph's patience was tested, but after a few months, Tom began to accept her. OB took Tom swimming and while he was busy chatting up ladies, Tom nearly drowned. He was saved by lifeguard Simon Crosby, who talked OB into enrolling Tom for classes. Simon and Tom got along well, but Max began to suspect Simon was a paedophile. While Simon was at the park with Tom, Max beat Simon up. The accusations were soon proven false, but not before Simon attempted suicide. Upon his recovery, he left town. This drama widened the growing rift between Max and OB, causing OB to move out. Tom asked him to please stay friends with Max, and OB and Max soon worked out their problems.

OB's departure

In February 2008, Tom was upset when he learned O.B. was moving away with his new girlfriend Summer Shaw.

Max getting married

In April 2008, Max told Tom he was going to ask Steph to marry him. So he set up a romantic dinner but Steph couldn't come because of family problems. Then Max asked Dom if he could have half an hour in II Gnosh to propose to Steph but Elliot came crashing in and ruined it. So when Tom and Max organized a hot cross bun sale, Max put the ring into one of the buns which Tom then ate by accident. When they got to the hospital , Max showed Steph the x-ray of the ring and then proposed and she said yes. Tom then said "it's a really nice ring, you'll see it when I have a poo!"

Max's death

Max and Steph were married on June 27, 2008. Max and O.B. planned to lug a jukebox of Steph's favorite music over to the pub. Tom was in the middle of the road, playing with an action figure, when Max saw Niall Rafferty's car hurtling towards Tom(it later became realised that it was an 'accident'). Max pushed his little brother out of the way, but suffered fatal injuries. As Tom begged him to stay with them, Max died in OB's arms. When Max took his final breath Tom begged OB to wake him up and when he realised his brother was gone sobbed in to his body.

That night, Tom told OB that Clare must have been right about him killing the people he loved. OB tried to reassure him Clare was wrong, and that Max had only gone to Heaven because he was a good person. Tom wondered why he didn't go to Heaven; OB didn't have an answer. Custody of Tom is currently being discussed, as Mandy was hesitant to accept the responsibility and OB has expressed that he would like to look after him.Tom wanting to help Steph thought that he would be better off with her instead.

On the 6th August 2008 Max's will was read and in which he had left his estate £500,000 and MOB's To Be shared equally between Tom and Steph. Max also left all of his DVD's to his sisters Cindy and Mandy. Cindy was not happy. Max gave £3,000 to each of his niece's Holly and Ella.

External links

* [http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/H/hollyoaks/cast/boys/tomcunningham/index.html Tom Cunningham] on the [http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/H/hollyoaks/ Hollyoaks website]