Characterisation and family George joined the cast as Helen in 1997. She was introduced as the mother of
Mandy Richardson (
Sarah Jayne Dunn) and
Lewis Richarsdon (
Ben Hull). Another called her "a long-standing and respected member of the community, fully behind any plans of civic renovation and other forward-thinking innovations from the local council." She is portrayed as fighting for the interests of others. Another writer from the website revealed "there were few others would could match Helen Cunningham when it came to fighting your corner and standing up for who and what you believed in." George told Allison Maund from
Inside Soap that she admired Helen because she "has her family's interests at heart". She also liked Helen's "strength" of character displayed in her stories and believed that Helen "sees the good in people". George concluded despites these qualities, she would struggle to be friends with Helen had she been real, joking "I think I'd have to shake her". She gives birth to a boy,
Tom Cunningham (later played by
Ellis Hollins) by the side of a road. The scenes played out after Helen's daughter, Mandy attempts to take Helen to hospital in her car whilst she is in labour, despite not being able to drive. Mandy fails to get Helen to the hospital and is forced to pull over and deliver her mother's baby in the backseat of her car. Dunn told a
Soaplife reporter that she enjoyed the challenge she and George had filming the storyline. She added that Mandy reacted well to the situation she and Helen face. In May 2003, producers decided to revisit Helen's stories with Dennis, which involved the domestic abuse she endured and the sexual abuse he inflicted on his own daughter. The story damaged the close mother/daughter relationship writers had previously developed between Helen and Mandy. Dennis was reintroduced into the show for the story, which plays out when he is released from prison. Mandy then discovers that Helen has remained in contact with Dennis via letters. Mandy discovers their letters and feels betrayed by Helen. His inappropriate crush develops after he attends the Jubilee celebration party where attendees wear period costumes. Bombhead accidentally sees Helen's underwear and becomes infatuated with her. Otway told Claire Brand from
Inside Soap that Bombhead becomes convinced Helen has romantic feelings for him too and tries to get closer to her. Writers portrayed Helen becoming more business oriented in the lead up to the affair. Helen owns a laundrette called "Steam Team" and wants to make it successful. Helen's husband, Gordon is reluctant to allow her to thrive. He wants to concentrate on their shop, Drive n Buy and keep her at home doing chores. Picard told an
Inside Soap reporter that the Cunningham marriage "hit a rocky patch" and Helen has "opened her heart to him". He added that "Helen is like the cat who got the cream, but Tony is fighting a moral dilemma." From this, Max decides to tell Gordon the truth about Helen and Tony. The affair reveal allowed writers to divide the Cunningham / Richardson family. Gordon blames Max for initially agreeing to keep Helen's secret. Mandy decides to defend her mother and Tony has betrayed the entire family. Latham told Andy Baker (
Inside Soap) that the storyline leaves Gordon isolated with no one to talk to and is "gutted". The betrayal is worsened by the fact Gordon nominated Tony for the "Entrepreneur of the Year Award", which he wins. Gordon is tasked with publicly awarding Tony and decides to keep his knowledge of their betrayal a secret until after the ceremony. In a story twist, Helen decides to leave Gordon for Tony.
Car crash and departure In 2004, both Helen and Gordon were written out of
Hollyoaks and killed off in a car crash story. Their departures were created because Latham chose to leave the series to spend more time with his family. Latham's departure from the series and Gordon being killed off were announced prior to the episode's broadcast. Helen's death was kept a secret from viewers and not included in advance spoilers printed in magazines such as
Soaplife and
Inside Soap. Littler, who plays Helen's step-son Max told an
Inside Soap reporter that Mandy has to tell Helen about Gordon's death. He described the scenes as "awful" and Max decides to dedicate himself to looking after Helen and Tom. Littler explained that with Gordon's death, he feels a responsibility to help Helen overcome their loss. A flashback scene featuring Helen's crash was created for the episode to reveal his identity. The flashback scenes used new footage, intercut with the original footage broadcast in Helen and Gordon's crash. Morris revealed that
Hollyoaks executive producer
Bryan Kirkwood created the story. He showed Morris footage of Helen's crash and informed him that Milo was responsible for causing the accident. Morris added that Helen and Gordon were still partly responsible for the crash. In 2020, producers further paid tribute to the characters with a commemorative memorial plaque inscribed with Helen and Gordon's name, which was installed on-set of a new market. ==Storylines==