| Character Profile | List of appearances |
Judith "Jude" Cunningham 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
School Life
Jude tried to blackmail Jack Osborne about being the father of her sister Dawn’s child, but instead, she ended up getting drunk and telling everyone at The Dog public house. She led a colourful life, battling with drink and crippling debts. Jude seemed to be never short of luck, and yet something invariably seemed to go wrong with her fortune and life happily ever after. Jude began life in Hollyoaks studying fashion at Riverbank College but her academic life was short-lived, as she was thrown off her course for cheating. After this, she struggled to meet ends and, due to her irresponsible attitude towards money, was declared bankrupt and left with massive debts to clear. As Jude became increasingly desperate for money, she began working as an escort, but finally gave up after a few bad experiences with clients. Just as Jude began to get her life back together, tragedy struck when her sister Dawnlost her battle with leukaemia. Jude took the news badly, turning to drink to get her through the difficult times. The love of Jude's life was Lewis Richardson, but he split up with her after he grew tired of her lies.
Departure
When her father Gordon's criminal cousin Benny arrived on the scene, Jude soon hooked up with him and started stealing cars to order. As she finally managed to pay off her debts, she bought Parker's and it seemed as if life was starting to get better for her. As always, this was short lived for Jude as she struggled to repay Benny what she owned him. Things turned nasty when Benny trashed Parker's and, to cover her losses, Jude began making illegal booze trips to France. However, this still did not bring enough money for the final instalment to buy her beloved Parker's. Desperate to make a success of her business, Jude agreed to do one last job for Benny. She had to pretend to get married so that Benny could snatch an expensive piece of jewellery stored at a stately home. Unsurprisingly, the plan went wrong and Jude was left as the number one suspect. She was days away from being arrested by the police and had to come up with a quick plan. A desperate Jude had no choice but to leave Hollyoaks. She brought a dark wig, took Dawn's passport, and bid farewell to her surviving sister, Cindy before leaving forever, leaving her father, mother and her brother Max devastated.
Aftermath
In 2002, Max, Gordon, Helen Cunningham, Tom Cunningham, Cindy, Holly Cunningham, Angela Cunningham and Sam O'Brien. went to visit Jude. In 2003, Max and Gordon attended Jude's wedding to Damien Windsor. Jude was unable to attend her father's funeral in 2004 and Max's funeral in 2008, in order to avoid being arrested (although she had contacted Max to congratulate him for his wedding to Steph Dean). In August 2013, Cindy mentioned that Holly had gone to stay with Jude for a few days. In 2016, Cindy went to visit Jude, after learning that Alfie Nightingale was the son she had given up for adoption years ago.
Return and departure
A "Mrs Windsor-Davenport" was mentioned frequently by Marnie Nightingale and Grace Black - who was later revealed to be Jude. Jude interviewed Marnie for her request to purchase three houses in her business settlement, Royal Oakes. She later visited Cindy and was surprised that Cindy lived in a small flat. Whilst going around Hollyoaks with Cindy, she met Tom, who was angry that Jude hadn't called him, upsetting Jude. Whilst in The Dog in the Pond, she encountered Jack who she lashed out on for taking advantage of Dawn after they had an argument over Jude revealing Bethany Cunningham's parentage (which ruined his marriage to Celia Osborne). Cindy begged Jude to give her a discount for the flats that she was selling. Jude initially refused, and Cindy started a petition to get Jude's company sued, but calls it off when Jude changes her mind about the discount. The sisters then reconciled. Jude organised a "Halloween Spooktacular" but it went wrong when Cameron Campbell set fire to the maze, which results in the death of Joe Roscoe and the supposed death of Nico Blake. Cindy also discovers that the whole project was a sham, as Jude left the village one final time with a large bag of money.
Background information
- Jude was axed in 1998 by producer Jo Hallows, however actress Davinia Taylor had decided to leave the role at the end of her contract.
Kill Count
Murders
- Michael St. John Thomas - 27th February 1997: Pushed him off a roof during a fight, defending Maddie Parker.
Attempted murders
None
Intro
2016-: Jude stands on the balcony with Cindy, smiles at the screen and lets go of red balloons with her.