Helen Cunningham

Helen Cunningham (previously Richardson) was the ex-wife of Dennis Richardson, the wife of Gordon Cunningham as well as the mother to Lewis, Mandy Richardson and Tom Cunningham. She and Gordon were killed in a car accident in February 2004 when the car she, Gordon and Tom were in was struck by a truck (later revealed to have been driven by Milo Entwistle in 2018). The crash left both Mandy and Tom orphans.
== Biography ==
=== 1997-1998: Dennis's Abuse and Mandy's Disappearance ===
In September 1997, Helen received a visit from her son Lewis, to discuss her schoolteacher husband Dennis's drinking and violence. Dennis became out of control when Mandy began modelling for the Riverbank College magazine, and ended up slapping her at school. Helen took Mandy and hid from Dennis in Lewis's flat. The pair returned home when Dennis moved out. However, Dennis convinced Mandy that he had changed when he began tutoring, and Mandy convinced Helen to let him move back in.
In June 1998, Mandy went missing and Dennis convinced his family and the police that Mandy's boyfriend Sol Patrick was behind her disappearance. In August, Lewis and Dennis found Mandy working at a Soho strip club but she fled from them, with the family later being informed that Mandy was spotted on a bridge and her coat found in the water. Dennis began planning a memorial for Mandy but Helen refused to believe that Mandy may have died. Sol led Lewis to Mandy in October 1998, where Mandy told Lewis that Dennis had raped her. With the support of her family, Mandy reported him to the police and Dennis received seven years imprisonment.
=== 1998-2002: New Family and Lewis's Death ===
At Christmas 1998, Helen had a drunken one-night-stand with divorced businessman Gordon Cunningham. As Mandy began taking driving lessons and modelling for Cunningham Driving School, Mr. C and Helen began a fling. In July 1999, Helen discovered that she was pregnant and Gordon proposed to her, which she eventually accepted. The pair married in August 1999 as Helen decided to keep the baby, to Mandy's disapproval. Gordon's ex-wife Angela Cunningham, still living with Gordon due to the problems with their daughter Cindy, took a disliking to Helen and made her disapproval of his situation clear. Helen went into labour on Millenium Eve and Mandy ended up delivering the baby in the back seat of her car, who Helen and Gordon named Thomas Gordon Cunningham. Angela moved out in January 2000, throwing Helen into the Cunningham family's continuous dramas.
Helen struggled with Gordon's children, Cindy and Max - especially Max in particular. However, her biggest family problem came when Lewis took a suicidal paracetamol overdose in October 2001. Helen was left devastated and fell out with Mandy after she discovered that he had beaten and tried to rape his partner Ruth Osborne. Mandy's friend Laura Burns comforted Helen and almost ended up replacing Mandy in the family. In her grief, Helen even attempted to adopt Anna Green's unborn baby, but Max and Mr. C managed to change her mind. After Mandy lost her licence after a serious crash that left Adam Morgan paralysed, Mandy reconciled with her mother and moved back home.
Laura became jealous of their reconciliation and attempted to be the center of Helen's attention, first by claiming that her mother had died. Meanwhile, Helen began struggling with unwanted attention from her young employee Bombhead. After eventually setting Bombhead straight, he became a close family friend of the Cunninghams. Meanwhile, Laura turned her attentions away from Helen and to Mandy, trying to flee with her to Cape Town when her brother Brendan Shepherd turned up and trying to kill Mandy when she refused.
=== 2003-2004: Identity Crisis and Death ===
In January 2003, Helen developed a sudden strong interest in the laundrette and clashed with an unsupportive Gordon. Things worsened between them when Helen told Gordon that Dennis was soon set to be released from prison and asked him to keep it secret, only to learn that he had told Max. Helen found comfort in Gordon's rival, local businessman/chef Tony Hutchinson, and the pair began an affair. A month later, O.B. learned that Helen was having an affair and informed Max, who discovered that Tony was her mystery man and beat him up. Despite convincing Max to keep quiet, the affair was exposed and made headlines.
Helen decided to leave Gordon for Tony, but Tony turned her down and the Cunninghams rejected her. Mandy defended Helen, until Dennis's retur where Mandy discovered they had kept contact via letters and that Helen had taken him to Lewis's memorial. However, after Max attacked Dennis and Dennis pressed ABH charges, Helen lied in her statement to weaken the case. Mandy and Max plotted to reconcile Helen and Gordon, which eventually worked. In December 2003, Dennis died from liver cancer and Mandy dumped his ashes down the drain. Helen soon came round to Mandy's actions and the pair mocked Dennis as they hosed him away.
After learning that Mandy and Tony had begun dating, Helen was vehemently opposed. However, a returning Ruth angered Helen more, blaming her for Lewis's death and warning Mandy not to let Ruth get between her and Tony. In January 2004, Gordon suffered a heart attack and Helen focused on assisting him in his recovery. Whilst driving home with Tom from Gordon's check-up, Helen's car was struck by an oncoming truck at an intersection. Gordon died in hospital after suffering a second heart attack whilst Helen - despite being discharged from hospital - died of unnoticed injuries at home.
=== 2004-2020: Aftermath ===
The devastated Cunninghams were left shocked to the core by their parents' sudden passing, with both Tom and Mandy left orphans. Angela and Cindy returned for the funeral, with Cindy remaining for the will reading. Mandy was left the businesses and custody of Tom, whilst Max was left 12 Tatton Crescent. Cindy was furious about what she had been left and attempted to sell the house from under Max, so Mandy sold the laundrette to pay Cindy off. Mandy struggled to look after Tom so he ended up in Max's care.
In April 2005, after Tom went missing, Mandy found him at Helen and Gordon's grave. Mandy gave birth to a daughter, Grace, in October 2005, giving her the middle name "Helen". In August 2014, Tom was reminded of his parents' death after his friend Peri Lomax's grandparents were killed in a car crash. In May 2017, Tom struggled with learning to drive as he was reminded of how Gordon and Helen were killed. In August 2018, Cindy discovered that her new lodger Milo Entwistle was the driver of the truck that had crashed into Helen and Gordon's car. In February 2020, Cindy had a memorial plaque installed in her new business, The Cunningham Grande Bazaar, dedicated to Helen and Gordon.
== Appendices ==
=== Residences ===
Address 	Duration
36 Grange Drive 	Until 1999
12 Tatton Crescent	1999 to 20th February 2004
=== Employment History ===
Job 	Duration
Steam Team owner	1999 to 2003
Washed Up owner 	2003 to 20th February 2004
== Background Information ==
* In 2003, producer Jo Hallows decided to axe both Helen and Gordon Cunningham after executive producer Phil Redmond wanted a shocking double death. Helen's death was kept embargoed until episode 1193 was transmitted. Hallows would later express regret over this decision to Gordon's actor Bernard Latham.
== Quotes ==
== See Also ==
* List of appearances
* Richardson family
* Cunningham family
== Gallery ==
Helen Cunningham gravestone.jpg|Helen's Headstone
Category:Hollyoaks characters
Category:Hollyoaks: Movin' On characters
Category:1997 debuts
Category:2004 departures
Category:1956 births
Category:1999 marriages
Category:2004 deaths
Category:Deceased characters
Category:Richardson family
Category:Cunningham family
Category:Residents of 36 Grange Drive
Category:Residents of 12 Tatton Crescent
Category:Businesspeople
Category:Book characters