| Character Profile | List of appearances |
Judith "Jude" Cunningham (previously Windsor-Davenport) is the daughter of Angela and Gordon Cunningham, the sister of Max, Dawn and Cindy Cunningham and the half-sister of Tom Cunningham, and the wife of Damien Windsor.
Biography[]
1996-1997: Arrival and Near-Death Experiences[]
Party animal Jude returned to living with her family in Hollyoaks in March 1996, having spent the last few years living in London. She was immediately left unimpressed by her mother Angela's boyfriend Terry Williams, as was Jude's sister Dawn. Jude enrolled at Riverbank College, choosing to study fashion. She end a fashion show at the college but was kicked out of the course a few months later after being caught cheating.
Jude took a liking to her friend Maddie Parker's wealthy former flame, Michael St. John Thomas. Michael began dating Jude, but grew bored of her and turned his affections back towards Maddie. He ended up obsessing over Maddie - even buying her a wedding dress - and a concerned Jude tried to help her deal with him. Michael lured the pair to his farmhouse and held the pair hostage with his shotgun. He then drove them to Loch Lomond to elope with Maddie, but when Maddie refused to put on the dress, Michael took Jude to the roof to throw her off. Maddie turned up wearing the dress and - with Michael distracted - Jude escaped his clutches, inadvertently pushing him from the roof to his death.
Struggling financially, Jude began working as an escort to make ends meet. However, she had several bad experiences with clients and ended up quitting. After discovering that the father of Dawn's long-lost daughter was Jack Osborne (the married father of Dawn's friend Ruth), Jude blackmailed him. However, she ended up getting drunk at The Dog in the Pond and revealed the secret in front of the Osborne family. Her family turned on her for her behaviour and she moved into a flat with Maddie and Lewis Richardson - the latter beginning a relationship with her. Jude began drinking heavily and accidentally started a fire. Maddie and Jude narrowly escaped due to Maddie - not coping after Michael's death - having installed several locks on the door and lost the keys.
1997-1998: Life of Crime and Departure[]
Benny Stringer - the shady cousin of Jude's father Gordon - turned up in the village in November 1997, immediately taking an interest in Jude. Unemployed and officially bankrupt, Jude began stealing cars for Benny to earn money. After Dawn's death from leukemia, Jude turned to alcohol. Through her work for Benny, Jude ended up making enough money to purchase Parker's from Maddie. After Benny discovered that Jude had purchased Parker's, he reminded Jude that she owned him money and she ended up in a poor financial situation whilst attempting to clear her debts to him.
Lewis broke up with Jude after Benny told him about their partnership. A furious Jude then threatened to report him to the police, so Benny trashed Parker's. Having lost a source of income, Jude planned an illegal booze run to France, but her brother Max and his friend O.B. stowed away in the truck and ended up drinking most of the wine. At risk of losing Parker's, Jude turned to Benny to give her one final job. He arranged for Jude to marry his friend Roger Patterson in a sham wedding at Burcroft Manor. She forced Roger to tell her about the scam: as hotel owner Lady Greythorne prepared for the local hunt in the evening, her expensive necklace would be switched for a fake. However, the plan went wrong and Jude was left prime suspect. Wearing a dark wig, Jude took Dawn's passport and bid farewell to Cindy before fleeing the country.
1998-2016: Interim Years[]
Despite being on the run, Jude kept in contact with her family and they would occasionally visit her. In September 1999, Rob Hawthorn threatened Carol over £10,000 he left in the truck during Jude's booze run, hinting that he had tracked down Jude and confronted her. In October 2000, Jude informed Cindy that she was in Spain. She flew Cindy out to stay with her when Cindy went on the run from social services. Jude was dating a man named Benicio and having an affair with a 'Javier' - a man who Jude paid to fly Cindy to Spain - and Benicio broke up with her in May 2001 after learning the truth.
In 2003, Max and Gordon attended Jude's wedding to Damien Windsor. However, she was unable to attend family events (such as Gordon's funeral, Max's weddings and Max's funeral) due to the risk of being arrested upon returning to England. Jude and Damien eventually divorced and Jude married a Mr. Windsor in 2016.
2016: Return and Departure[]
Jude returned to Hollyoaks in October 2016, under the name "Mrs. Windsor-Davenport". Marnie Nightingale met with Jude to discuss her business settlement "Royal Oaks", as Marnie was interested in purchasing several of the to-be-built properties. However, Marnie snubbed Cindy and Jude exploded at her for being "stuck up". She also met her younger half-brother Tom Cunningham for the first time in over a decade, but he was not impressed to see her. However, his tone immediately changed after learning that her phone screensaver was a photograph he had sent her of his daughter.
As the prices for the houses for the "Royal Oaks" settlement had been raised out of their budget, Jude gave Cindy a discount. Cindy ended up even working for Jude, and helped Jude plan the Halloween Spooktacular - an event to promote the development. Cindy soon discovered that the development was a scam after arriving at one of the 'showhomes' and discovering that it was not owned by Jude. Jude planned to make her escape during the party, but Liam Donovan ended up stealing her large bag of money. Cindy helped her retrieve it, but failed to convince Jude to pay everyone back. Jude ended up leaving the village with the money in November, leaving some behind for Cindy and Tom.
Kill Count[]
Murders/Manslaughters[]
- Michael St. John Thomas, 3rd March 1997 - Pushed him off a roof during a siege, in self-defence.
Attempted Murders[]
None
Rescue Count[]
Successful Rescues[]
- Holly Cunningham, 9th April 1998 - Stopped Holly's depressed mother Cindy Cunningham from suffocating Holly with a cushion.
Failed Rescues[]
None
Appendices[]
Residences[]
Employment History[]
| Job | Duration |
|---|---|
| Student | 1996 |
| Escort | April 1997 to c.May 1997 |
| Owner of Parker's | February 1998 to November 1998 |
Background Information[]
- Whether actress Davinia Taylor was fired or chose to quit has been disputed. In late 1998, it was announced that Taylor had been fired and a stand-in was used for shots with Jude facing away from the camera. However, in a 2016 interview with This Morning, Taylor insisted that she had quit the role and filmed her front-facing shots before the show hired a stand-in actor.
- Stephanie Waring, who went on to play Cindy Cunningham, initially auditioned for the role of Jude.
Introduction Sequence[]
- 2016: Jude stands on the balcony with Cindy, smiles at the screen and lets go of red balloons with her.
Quotes[]
