Hollyoaks Icon Tom Cunningham Returns in Prison Plot Amid 30th Anniversary

Ellis Hollins has reprised his role as Tom Cunningham in the Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks, marking the character's dramatic return in a new storyline where Tom is unexpectedly shown to be in prison. The plots reveal Tom eavesdropping on conversations about his longtime nemesis Clare Devine, who made a surprising comeback last month with a dark history involving tormenting Tom and his family. Despite Tom's incarceration being a mystery, he soon contacts Donny Clarke to provide information on Clare, while fellow inmate Rex Gallagher is pressured by Clare to kill Tom, culminating in a tense prison yard confrontation. Tom and Clare's fraught history includes Clare imprisoning Tom as a child and staging events to harm his guardian Max Cunningham, adding depth to their renewed conflict. This return is part of Hollyoaks' 30th anniversary celebrations, with showrunners promising significant drama and spectacle as the series revisits iconic rivalries and characters. Fans are left anticipating the outcome of Tom's precarious situation and the unfolding battle with Clare.