We report time and wavelength resolved studies of the vacuum-ultraviolet (VUV) emission from a windowless dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) in helium. Short-pulse voltage excitation is utilised to clearly resolve the fast and slow temporal components of the Hopfield continuum between λ = 60–120 nm. Experimental results and theoretical modelling of the spectral distributions indicate that the two components of the VUV emission must originate from the same radiating molecular state—, and that two distinct pumping mechanisms populate this state. The time evolution of the fast component is found to correlate with that from the (0,0) molecular transition (λ = 513.4 nm). Thus the state is initially rapidly pumped via radiative cascade from higher molecular states. In addition, the observed band emissions from the molecular v=0 and v=0 states and the line emissions from the atomic He*(n = 3) states all exhibit similar temporal behaviour during the discharge excitation period. Our results are consistent with the recent report of Frost et al (J. Phys. B 34 1569 2001) concerning the existence of a so-called ‘neglected channel’ to fast production from He*(n = 3) atomic state precursors.