Dawn Cunningham

Dawn Cunningham was the eldest daughter of Gordon and Angela Cunningham.
== Biography ==
=== 1975-1995: Early Life ===
Dawn was the first child of Angela and Gordon Cunningham, born to the couple in 1975. Dawn had two sisters: Jude (born in 1978) and Cindy Cunningham (born in 1981) and a brother Max (born in 1982). Gordon and Angela's marriage turned sour and the pair decided to divorce. During this period, Dawn turned to Jack Osborne - the father of her friend Ruth - for comfort. Jack and Dawn ended up igniting an affair and Dawn fell pregnant. She gave birth to a daughter, Beth, who was adopted by Jacqui and Dean Johnson.
Continuing her studies at Riverbank College, Dawn began working at Better by Design: an interior design shop owned by Mrs. Parker, the mother of Dawn's friend Maddie. She disapproved of her mother's relationship with Terry Williams, finding herself a target of his creepy inappropriate behaviour. She continued to see her father, angering Angela due to their messy divorce.
=== 1995-1997: Friendships and Family Troubles ===
Unable to talk her mother out of seeing Terry, Dawn spent most of her time attempting to avoid him. However, things got complicated when Terry proposed marriage and Angela accepted. Dawn befriended Jambo Bolton and helped him on his quest to track down his biological father, Jeff Bolton. After her best friend Natasha Andersen died of an overdose when her drink was spiked at Lucy Benson's birthday party, Dawn became distressed and told Jambo about Bethany. Jambo decided to help her find Bethany and as he found Bethany's address, Dawn managed to find Jeff's address.
Jude returned to Hollyoaks from London, and shared Dawn's problems with Terry. The pair struggled to live with his behaviour and moved out, with Dawn becoming roommates with Lewis Richardson at 2b Oakdale Drive. However, Dawn decided to (reluctantly) attend Angela and Terry's wedding in October 1996. Dawn was left devastated when Angela was diagnosed with breast cancer and turned to Jambo for comfort. The pair shared a kiss, but ultimately decided to remain friends at Dawn's insistence.
In December 1996, Dawn was informed that Bethany was suffering from kidney disease and needed a transplant. As neither Dawn nor Gordon were a match for Bethany, Dawn was forced to tell an oblivious Jack that she had given birth to a daughter by him. After the shock began to wear off, Jack donated his kidney to Beth and saved her life, but Ruth found out and told Dawn to stay away from her family. Dawn tried to put things right and the pair reconciled in April 1997.
=== 1997: Relationship with Jambo and Death ===
Changing her mind after insisting that they remained friends, Dawn decided to tell Jambo of her feelings for him, but learned that he had begun a relationship with Anita Groves. After spending the best part of the year keeping her feelings a secret, Dawn discovered that Jambo's relationship with Anita had ended after he had an affair with his step-mother Lisa Bolton, and Jambo and Dawn finally got together. However, Dawn revealed to Jambo that she had been feeling unwell and had undergone tests at the doctors. In November 1997, Dawn was diagnosed with leukemia.
Jambo stood by Dawn's side as she was treated with chemotherapy, despite her attempts to convince him to go touring with his band. On Christmas Day, Jambo took Dawn on a boat ride in the River Dee, where he proposed marriage and she accepted. As they talked about their dream wedding and life afterwards, Dawn peacefully passed away in his arms. Shortly after her death, Cindy - who had been keeping her pregnancy secret - went into labour and gave birth to a baby girl in Got It Taped, abandoning her at a hospital.
=== 1997-2019: Aftermath ===
Jambo struggled with Dawn's death, initially blaming himself for taking her out in the cold. He ended up falling into a depression and shut himself away from his friends and family. After attempting to move forward with his life, he struggled with the constant reminders of Dawn in the village and moved to Anglesey in June 1998. In December 1998, Jude fled England with a brown wig and Dawn's passport as her dodgy dealings with Gordon's cousin Benny Stringer and his associate Roger Patterson left her wanted by the police.
In November 2001, Mr. C told Max that he felt that he had failed Dawn by being absent for leaving the family. Bethany returned to the village in 2004 to see Dawn and Jack before moving with her family to Australia, only to learn that Dawn had died years before. Max ended up giving Bethany a pendant that had belonged to Dawn, which she took to Australia with her. In June 2005, Jack remembered Dawn whilst doing a cancer charity bike race with his son Darren and Craig Dean. After being diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in December 2019, Cindy's fiancé Luke Morgan visited River Dee and reminded Darren that Dawn had died there.
== Appendices ==
=== Residences ===
Address 	Duration
12 Tatton Crescent	Until July 1996
2b Oakdale Drive 	July 1996 to 1997
12 Tatton Crescent	1997 to 25th December 1997
=== Employment History ===
== Background Information ==
*Dawn was originally mentioned to have given birth to Bethany Johnson at the age of sixteen in 1991, putting her year of birth as 1975. However, her coffin - seen in Episode 170 (29th December 1997) - listed her year of birth as 1973.
== Quotes ==
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== See Also ==
* List of appearances
* Cunningham family
Category:Hollyoaks characters
Category:1995 debuts
Category:1997 departures
Category:1997 deaths
Category:Deceased characters
Category:Cunningham family
Category:Residents of 12 Tatton Crescent
Category:Residents of 2b Oakdale Drive