Tom Cunningham

Tom Cunningham is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Ellis Hollins. He made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 28 December 1999. With Tom being a young child for most of his tenure, his early years featured minimal storylines, including the numerous death of his family, being abused by Clare Devine (Gemma Bissix) and having various guardians including Steph Cunningham (Carley Stenson) and Jack (Jimmy McKenna) and Frankie Osborne (Helen Pearson). However, a turning point came for Tom when it was announced that his girlfriend, Peri Lomax (Ruby O'Donnell) would fall pregnant, and deal with Peri's subsequent decision to give their baby away for adoption. Other storylines have also included his friendships with Nico Blake (Persephone Swales-Dawson) and Dylan Jenkins (James Fletcher) and his relationships with Peri and his foster sister Jade Albright (Kassius Nelson). Tom left the village with half-sister Cindy Cunningham (Stephanie Waring) on 4 September 2024, in an unannounced departure. It was announced on 16 May 2025 that Hollins has reprised his role as Tom for the 30th Anniversary celebrations. His return aired on 8 July 2025. Tome remained on the show for the 30th anniversary he appears on the anniversary episode airing on 22 October 2025 that saw off the character of Peri and crossing over with former soap opera Brookside. Tom's final scenes aired on 5 November 2025.