James Cunningham is a character in Coronation Street, appearing originally in September 2010 and then from April to July 2011. He is the crooked grandson of Ken Barlow and Susan Cunningham, and the son of Ken's illegitimate son Lawrence Cunningham, whom Ken didn't discover existed until 2010.
He was played by James Roache, the real life son of William Roache who portrays Ken Barlow.
Biography[]
Backstory[]
James was born at some point in the 1980s to Lawrence Cunningham, and was soon followed by a sister Chloe. James and Chloe's mother would later pass away at an unknown point, and their grandmother Susan passed away in the 2000s. James shared a strained relationship with his father, especially as Lawrence didn't approve of James being gay and that it made him uncomfortable.
2010-2011[]
In August 2010 Ken Barlow discovered that his old girlfriend from back in 1960 Susan Cunningham was pregnant, however the letter she sent him became stuck behind the skirting board at his old home Number 3 Coronation Street, which in present day was discovered by current occupant Norris Cole. After visiting Susan's sister Ken discovered Susan was dead, but managed to make contact with his son Lawrence, who was no doubt Ken's son due to their striking resemblance.
A day following Ken's meeting with Lawrence, James turned up at Ken's house to meet his grandfather. Ken was shocked when he discovered that Lawrence didn't approve of James being gay and tried to unite father and son, but Lawrence wasn't having none of it and stood by his views, not wanting to allow Ken to change his mind. Disappointed, Ken ordered Lawrence to leave and the pair ended up losing contact. James was grateful however for Ken understanding him, and they kept in touch. That Christmas James sent Ken and his family a card.
In April 2011 when the charity James worked for opened up a homeless hostel nearby Coronation Street, James turned up at Ken's home Number 1 Coronation Street asking if he could move in, much to Ken's pleasure although his wife Deirdre didn't approve as there is enough occupants. During his stay in Coronation Street James got to know the neighbours, which included Sophie Webster and her girlfriend Sian Powers, who became interested in James' charity work and later got a job at the hostel. Unknown to them, Ken or the Barlow family, James was in actuality as a conman, who was in cahoots with his crooked bosses to use the hostel as a front for their schemes to get money off people. The scheme however brought Dennis Tanner back to his home roots on Coronation Street, as he had been homeless around this period and relying on the soup kitchen for support and company.
James claimed that the soup kitchen would be closed down unless it had funding. A sympathetic Sophie stole her father Kevin Webster's lottery winnings and transferred it to the business, but the couple running it made off with it. Kevin was furious when he found out what happened and threatened James, but James denied knowing what happened and that he was just as much in the dark as they were. Kevin decided not to press charges as he didn't want his daughter prosecuted, despite being angry at what she did. Ken didn't believe that James was involved in the con, although Ken's adoptive daughter Tracy (a crook herself) didn't buy into James lies.
Despite James denying being involved in the con, he was indeed part of the scheme. He met his boss Rob White, who only gave James a small amount for the con, and claimed James was just a "junior". James decided to con the Barlow family by remortgaging their house Number 1 Coronation Street under his grandfather's name. When he had a surveyor round Tracy's daughter Amy questioned what was going on, and James threatened her, claiming that he would put her family in prison. When Tracy found out she was angry and told Ken and Deirdre, but James managed to talk his way out of it.
When a cheque for £50,000 arrived in the post, Ken questioned James over it. James realised he couldn't lie any longer and confessed to Ken his misdeeds, although tried to play down the situation, although Ken wasn't having any of it. Ken showed his true colours as he happily confessed to being a criminal, and blamed his problems on his father Lawrence and also on Ken for sleeping with Susan, and told his grandfather that he was a bore. James showed no remorse for his actions, and said that he would con again. This prompted Ken to try and phone the police, but this only caused a struggle between him and James resulting in James hitting Ken against the wall and knocking him out. James packed his bags and fled Coronation Street, never to return.
Following the incident Ken didn't want to phone the police as he didn't want James to get into trouble. When Kevin discovered the truth about James, he took it upon himself to phone the police instead. James is still at large, with his whereabouts unknown or his living conditions.
Gallery[]
Behind the Scenes[]
- In reality, James Roache and Linus Roache are the real life sons of William Roache, who plays long-running character Ken Barlow. They were brought into Coronation Street for a short stint in September 2010 as part of the 50th Anniversary of the show, and for a chance for them to act alonside their dad (Linus had previously appeared in the show as Ken's son Peter Barlow from 1973 to 1975, a role now occupied by Chris Gascoyne).
- James returned to the role for a slightly longer stint for three months from April to July 2011.
- James' other Coronation Street related work was for the 2010 biopic The Road to Coronation Street, in which he portrayed his father.
Memorable Info[]
Appearances: 6-10 Sep 2010, 29 Apr-21 Jul 2011
Parents: Lawrence Cunningham and Unnamed mother
Grandparents: Ken Barlow, Susan Cunningham
Great-grandparents: Frank Barlow, Ida Barlow, Mr. Cunningham