Trivia

Mother to Philippa Anne (née Blake) Orr (b. 1967).

Her Coronation Street (1960) character Linda Cheveski became the 1st woman on the soap opera to give birth. Linda had a son Paul (played by Marcus Saville), born on 12 June 1961.

Her daughter Philippa was named in honour of Cunningham's Coronation Street (1960) co-star Philip Lowrie, who went on to become Philippa's godfather.

Grandmother to Jack (b. 1996), Benjamin (b. 2000) and Harry (b. 2000) via daughter Philippa and her husband John Orr.

She and William Roache are the only two survivors of the original cast of Coronation Street (1960).

Cunningham started her acting career at the Bristol Old Vic, subsequently joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in a production of Twelfth Night. She was appearing in Repertory Theatre in Buxton when a casting director from Granada Television came to see the show. A couple of months later, she was asked to audition in Manchester, and was cast in the role of Linda Cheveski in the soap opera Coronation Street, this being her first television role.

Studied at the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama, taking a combined teaching and acting course.