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. Tom 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.
Casting The character was introduced during an extended episode broadcast on 28 December 1999.
The character has been played by Ellis Hollins since 2003. The actor's drama teacher Judith Barker learned of the part through an agent friend and put him forward for the role.
On 4 September 2024, Ellis made an unannounced exit from the soap after 21 years, in an interview with Digital Spy he confirmed his exit was part of the cast shakeup.
Development In February 2019, it was announced that Hollyoaks would be exploring polyamory through Tom, his ex-girlfriend Peri and her new girlfriend Harley Frater (Mollie Lambert. In the storyline, Peri becomes frustrated with the tension between Harley and Tom; thinking that Harley hates Tom, she locks them in a room together at a fundraiser ball in the hopes that they will talk through their issues. Ellis explained, "Peri doesn't think that Tom and Harley are getting on very well, but really it couldn't be any further from the truth. Tom and Harley like each other but they don't know how to express it, especially because Harley is with Peri." The pair have a heart to heart but then share a kiss, and Tom then tells Peri about this as he feels guilty. Of the kiss, Ellis told Digital Spy, "It's a mutual thing, because Tom and Harley have been flirting a little bit. Tom tells Harley about the events that have happened to him over the years – including how the Cunningham clan have gradually been picked off over the years and he's been left with less family. Harley gets to see that Tom isn't this 'up-his-own-backside guy' – he's actually quite sensitive and he's been through a lot. Harley likes that side of him. Tom's had a crush on Harley for a while, so he doesn't need much persuading." Ellis explained that Tom feels guilty for betraying Peri, but he also feels partially excited as he has found someone he really likes who likes him back, adding, "It's mixed emotions but mainly euphoria that he's finally found someone other than Peri, which was an eternity ago, who's interested in him. He's very happy that he's found someone".
In the storyline, Peri is hurt and "jilted" after Tom confesses his kiss with Harley right away and she confronts Harley, but Harley is nonchalant and not sorry at all, and also suggests that the three of them enter into a three-way polyamorous relationship. Ellis explained that the polyamory storyline developed from the problem that three of them have to address regarding their feelings and he believed that Tom had a natural reaction to Harley's suggestion, explaining, "for most people, it'd be one of the most unexpected things someone could ask you. Tom is thinking like a typical lad, so he's over the moon. Instead of having one girl that likes him, he has two and he can't believe his luck." Ellis found the scenes fun to film due to being good friends with O'Donnell and Lambert. The actor believed that Tom could get very attached to Harley due to Tom being really lonely and having lost many people in his life. Ellis also believed that viewers would be surprised to see Tom in this storyline, explaining, "Tom is somewhat of a quiet character who minds his own business, and now he has this 'Hugh Hefner' type of thing going on! He thinks he's all that, because he's with two girls at the same time. Tom thinks he's top dog".
Storylines Tom is born on Millennium Eve 1999 to parents Gordon Cunningham (Bernard Latham) and Helen Cunningham (Kathryn George). Tom had to deal with a lot of family tragedies. Gordon's daughter Dawn Cunningham (Lisa Williamson) died of leukaemia two years before he was born, the suicide of Helen's son Lewis Richardson (Ben Hull) in 2001, Helen and Gordon are killed in a car crash in 2004 and Tom survived the crash. Helen's daughter Mandy Richardson (Sarah Jayne Dunn) becomes his legal guardian. Some time after, Mandy cannot cope looking after Tom and hands him over to Gordon's son Max Cunningham (Matt Littler). Max and best friend Sam "OB" O'Brien (Darren Jeffries) raise Tom in their flat. Tom runs away from home after overhearing Max tell OB he believes Tom will be better off in care. However, Mandy finds him by his parents' grave.
Max starts a relationship with Clare Devine (Gemma Bissix). When Mandy's baby daughter Grace Hutchinson dies from sudden infant death syndrome, Tom looks for a mother figure in Clare. After Clare and Max marry, he soon begins to see through her. After Tom overhears her on the phone to her father, who she previously claimed was dead, Clare begins to manipulate Tom and makes Max believe Tom is lying. Clare draws on the walls of Max's flat and pours water on his bed sheets and blames Tom's misbehaviour. After Max tells Clare he wants to accompany her to a fertility clinic, Clare poisons Tom's food so he is ill and Max cannot come. Max has a heart attack and grows more ill when Clare stops giving him his medication. At Christmas, Clare takes Max and Tom to a lakeside where Clare pretends Tom has fallen into the water. Max tries to save Tom and almost dies, but is revived by OB. Max finally sees the real Clare and apologises to OB and Tom. Weeks later, Clare tells Tom that he was the cause of his parents' death, and would eventually kill Max. Clare calls a social worker, who arrives just as Tom shouts he does not want to be near Max, and Tom is taken into care. Tom refuses to see Max and but after Max threatens Clare, the brothers meet and Max explains that Clare was lying. Tom then moves back in with Max.
Max begins to get close to Steph Dean (Carley Stenson), who Tom develops a crush on. Max and Steph eventually become a couple, despite Tom's jealousy. While OB takes Tom swimming, he flirts with Summer Shaw (Summer Strallen) and Tom nearly drowns, but is saved by a lifeguard Simon Crosby (Simon Lawson). Gilly Roach (Anthony Quinlan) tells Max that Simon has images of Tom in his swimming costume on his computer, believing he may be a paedophile. When it is revealed that Simon is not a paedophile, Max and OB fall out. However, Tom makes them make up. Max tells Tom he is going to propose to Steph, which he does by putting the ring in a hot cross bun, which Tom eats. Steph and Max watch as Tom is given an x-ray. When Steph sees the ring, Max asks her to marry him, which she accepts. Steph and Max get married. As Max and OB carry a jukebox for Steph later that day, Tom plays on a road. Max notices Niall Rafferty (Barry Sloane) speeding towards Tom, so Max pushes him out of the way. However, he is hit by the car himself, and dies beside Steph, OB and Tom. Tom blames himself but OB convinces him that he did not kill Max, and Clare was wrong. Mandy and OB discuss custody of Tom, with Mandy initially agreeing to take responsibility for her brother. OB, however, decides he wants to become Tom's guardian, but Tom tells OB that Steph needs him more. In Max's will reading, he leaves his estate, £500,000 and MOBS to Steph and Tom. Steph grows closer to Niall, but ends their romance when she catches him angrily grabbing Tom. Following this, Steph and Tom decide to begin a new start, so they leave Hollyoaks together. Tom and Steph then return to Hollyoaks, having spent several weeks with Steph's sister. Steph is worried for her and Tom's safety after learning that Niall killed Kieron Hobbs (Jake Hendriks) and his own half-sister Tina Reilly (Leah Hackett), and tried to murder several others. Steph takes Tom on holiday to Scotland with her brother Craig Dean (Guy Burnet). Unknown to Steph, Niall follows them to Scotland, where he kidnaps Tom. After Tom escapes, he alerts Steph and Craig. Steph tells Niall she does not love him in a confrontation on a cliff. Niall, seeing what he has caused, then kills himself. Steph and Tom then visit Steph's father Johnno, and then they return to Hollyoaks the next day.
Steph then begins dance classes, which Tom and niece Holly Hutchinson (Lydia Waters) attend. Then they are bullied by Persephone Hart (Elizabeth Hadley). The situation is quickly resolved by Steph and Sarah Barnes (Loui Batley). Steph's stepbrother, Darren Osborne (Ashley Taylor Dawson), takes Tom to The Dog on one occasion, which ends up with Tom getting drunk and having to have his stomach pumped. Tom befriends Gilly, who falls in love with Steph and proposes to her. Tom overhears Steph and Nancy Hayton (Jessica Fox) discussing Steph's cervical cancer, which upsets Tom as he again blames himself. Steph however, reassures Tom that she will be fine. Steph is later told her cancer is terminal, which again upsets Tom. He then sings at Steph's wedding to Gilly.
Mandy returns to Hollyoaks to see Steph about custody of Tom when she dies. She takes Tom to Relish for lunch when he sees Warren Fox (Jamie Lomas) at the window, despite Warren's death in 2009. Tom tells Mandy, who tries to convince him that he did not see him. However, Tom then later confides in Frankie Osborne (Helen Pearson) about what happens to people after they die and he begins to believe that he is seeing Warren's ghost. Steph is killed in a fire at Il Gnosh. Tom stays strong to begin with but later begins crying over her death. Tom, Frankie, Jack Osborne (Jimmy McKenna) and Darren then watch a farewell video from Steph which she filmed weeks before.
In January 2011, Tom hears somebody in the kitchen, so warns Jack to investigate. When he does, Jack gets a blow in the head by the intruder. The intruder starts to confront Jack, but Tom gets hold of a cricket bat and hits the intruder on the head unconscious. The intruder appears to be a woman when Jack removes the hood she is wearing and Tom fears that he might have killed her. The girl is revealed to be Frankie's granddaughter, Esther Bloom (Jazmine Franks) and she eventually moves in with the family. Tom finds Esther's presence hard to deal with, especially as he is going to court for his attack on her. However, when he is cleared, he begins to accept Esther and the pair get on well.