text: steph cunningham stephanie " steph " roach ( née dean ; previously cunningham ) is a fictional character from the british channel 4 soap opera hollyoaks , played by carley stenson . she debuted on - screen during the episode airing on 8 march 2000 . steph was introduced into the serial by executive producer jo hallows . in 2009 stenson decided to quit , but the then producer lucy allan convinced her to stay to play out a dramatic storyline . the announcement of her departure was made public in june 2010 . stenson 's fellow cast members have described her as a " hollyoaks legend " because of her lengthy duration . steph has been described as having a highly confident persona , a trait stenson enjoyed portraying throughout . steph is also played as " fame hungry " . she is noted for a number of high - profile storylines such as the portrayal of bullying in a school environment , the portrayal of epilepsy , which stenson felt had been a ' taboo subject ' for too long . other stories include becoming a widow and her involvement in niall 's revenge plot and her constant desire for fame . one of steph 's final storylines was the portrayal of cervical cancer , which stenson conducted extensive research into . the character was subsequently killed off in a special block of episodes branded by the media as " fire week " . some critics described her final storylines as " upsetting " and " surprising " . steph 's relationship with gilly roach was viewed unfavourable by most . stenson has been nominated for several different awards for her portrayal of steph . storylines backstory steph is the daughter of frankie and johnno dean ( colin wells ) . she has two brothers , craig ( guy burnett ) and jake ( kevin sacre ) , and a sister , debbie ( jodi albert ) . she is not close to her siblings , and has a strained relationship with her mother , who prefers to involve herself in craig and jake 's lives and boast about debbie 's professional singing prowess . in contrast , steph has a very close relationship with her father , johnno . 2000 – 11 steph is introduced as a new student at hollyoaks high , with early storylines focussing on her school life and best friend zara morgan . she frequently bullies fellow pupil lisa hunter ( gemma atkinson ) , driving her to attempt suicide . when steph 's friends react disapprovingly , she apologises and promises to change . she cultivates a promiscuous reputation , having brief relationships with brian and footballer scott . steph eventually becomes friends with lisa , but accidentally ruins her hair while attempting to dye it . believing that she did so on purpose , her other friends shun her . distracted by the quarrel , steph does not notice that she is being stalked by serial killer toby mills ( henry luxemburg ) . he attacks her , hitting her in the head with a spanner and leaving her to die . steph is comatose for a week , and is diagnosed with epilepsy when she regains consciousness . upon learning that toby is lisa 's brother - in - law , steph resumes her bullying . her father eventually catches her physically attacking lisa , and orders her to leave her alone . the two go on to attend university together , where steph apologises for her cruelty and they are able to reconcile . in the aftermath of her epilepsy diagnosis , steph is initially unable to deal with her condition . her father supports her , but ends up abandoning his family following the revelation that he has a secret son . steph 's mother remarries , and she comes to see her new stepfather , jack osborne ( james mckenna ) , as a father figure . steph largely reforms following her diagnosis , becoming more sensitive to the needs of others . she comes to terms with how dangerous her condition could be uncontrolled , and in time her epileptic episodes become less frequent . steph fails her college exams and is forced to retake them . fuelled by jealousy of her sister 's west end success , she attempts to embark on a celebrity career . she appears in the fictional television show bid crazy tv , and auditions for a girl band , x - pose , which transpires to be a money - making scam . she then sells a kiss and tell story on celebrity joe jones , who she meets after a failed audition to become one of his backing singers . when steph 's notoriety peters out , her stepbrother and agent darren arranges for her to have sex with a footballer . after their liaison , steph discovers that he is actually just the team 's mascot . humiliated , she abandons her pursuit of fame . in a comedy storyline , steph 's great - aunt leaves her an inheritance , said to be a " small fortune " , on the condition that steph performs a charitable act . she fulfils the requirement by saving leo valentine ( brian ) from choking , however discovers that small fortune is , in fact , a donkey . steph sends it to live at a donkey sanctuary . steph becomes a babysitter to tom , and later begins a relationship with his older brother , max . they get engaged , but have an on - off relationship fraught with frequent arguments . steph 's friend niall falls in love with her and attempts to come between them . she and max eventually marry , but on their wedding day , niall accidentally runs max over , killing him . after a period of intense grief , steph has sex with niall . he is revealed to be a villain , holding his family hostage and killing his sister , tina mcqueen ( leah hackett ) . a frightened steph goes to stay with her brother craig in scotland . niall follows her , and takes steph , tom and craig hostage . after a stand - off in which craig makes niall acknowledge the hurt he has caused , niall throws himself off a cliff to his death . after a long holiday with tom , steph returns and begins to put her life back together . she falls for dance teacher fernando fernandez ( jeronimo best ) , inspiring jealousy in gilly , who has feelings for steph . she and fernando become engaged , as do gilly and cheryl brady ( bronagh waugh ) , steph 's employee . realising that she loves gilly , steph breaks up with fernando , but due to loyalty to cheryl , refuses to date gilly when he breaks up with her . gilly briefly becomes engaged to jem costello ( helen russell - clarke ) , but ultimately leaves her to be with steph . steph discovers she has cervical cancer , and has a hysterectomy . in the aftermath , she decides to pursue a singing career and applies for the x factor . despite using her cancer as a sob story , she is rejected at her audition . her cancer spreads , and though steph has chemotherapy , she is later told that her condition is terminal . gilly struggles to cope with her diagnosis , almost causing steph to cancel their wedding . it goes ahead , however , and after their honeymoon , steph begins to make plans for her impending death . when il gnosh , a local italian restaurant catches fire , steph saves amy barnes and her children , but chooses to remain inside and die . after steph 's funeral , her family and friends watch video messages she recorded for them prior to her death . on 11 march 2011 , cindy returns and darren tells her about steph and plays her the goodbye message . on 26 december , steph made a one - off appearance as a ghost to doug carter . development casting and characterisation stenson originally auditioned to play a friend of the established character zara morgan ( kelly greenwood ) . although unsuccessful , the hollyoaks casting team later asked her to apply for the new role of steph cunningham , and placed her straight into the final stage of auditions . she was delighted to subsequently be given the part , which was her first major television role . stenson joined the cast straight after leaving high school , aged seventeen . she made her first appearance in march 2000 , and by 2007 had become the longest - serving female cast member remaining . steph was introduced as a friend of zara 's , who was initially " quite naive " and easily led . within two years , her personality had altered greatly . steph became a bully , and " a bit of a bitch " . stenson enjoyed this transformation into a villain , as she believed it made steph a more memorable character . she also felt she could " really go somewhere " with steph 's bitchiness in her acting , but in contrast struggled to portray her more genuine moments . she commented that steph is the type of character only to cry over things she " really cares about " . stenson found this difficult to relate to , and struggled to " find a balance between pushing it too far and far enough " . she ultimately preferred to play her as a bitch , though one " more comical rather than just out - and - out nasty . " stenson assessed that steph " really isn 't all bad , more of a lovable rogue who just likes making mischief for attention . " she deemed her character " very unpredictable " , with a great deal of confidence . the linc online called her a " beautiful blonde wild child with a penchant for arrogance and displays of egotism " . sarah moolla of the people branded her " superficial " , the daily record 's merle brown referred to her as " a true red - blooded female , and emma johnson of the liverpool echo assessed that she had a " couldn 't - care - less " attitude . bbc america described steph as a two - sided character . they observed that as well as a bitch , she could be " dishonest , vain , jealous and small - minded " , and wrote " she causes trouble when she wants to and will happily lie and gossip to get her own way . " conversely , they noted that for those on her good side , " she can be your best friend , a confidante and sweet natured girl " . as steph developed , she was revealed to have a " softer side " . beneath her tough façade was a " deeply insecure little girl who crave [ d ] love and affection . " an " artistic and creative " streak lead her to attend performing arts college , and attain a degree in drama . this inspired a rivalry with fellow actor summer shaw ( summer strallen ) , which saw steph " determined to keep the limelight on her . " nadia mendoza of the sun described steph as hollyoaks 's " resident drama queen " , explaining that steph 's dislike of summer stemmed from the fact she had previously been the only actress in the village . stenson downplayed her vocal ability , and opined that steph is " hardly the world 's best singer " . family and relationships in late - 2002 , more than two years after steph 's arrival , her family were introduced to the series . the dynamics of the dean family evolved with time . they were initially a dysfunctional unit , but in a different way to other hollyoaks families , as they tended to disrupt the lives of others whilst being happy amongst themselves . upon their arrival , actress helen pearson , who plays mother frankie dean , assessed that they were " really supportive of each other " , and " quite solid , like an old - fashioned family unit " , despite their lack of finances which required them to undertake " various scams to keep body and soul together . " as time went on , the deans were affected by affairs and parental separation , more typical of the soap 's other families . steph had several romances throughout her time in the series . in her early years , stenson played her as a flirt , who acted out for the attention of boys . her first lovers included christian virgin brian drake ( jonathan le ) and football playing " lothario " scott anderson ( daniel hyde ) . her later relationship with cameron clark ( ben gerrard ) had " ups and downs " due to his obsessive - compulsive disorder . to boost his confidence she forced him to join a rock band . her actions were successful , and stenson said steph was " proud " of this . she sacrificed their relationship so cameron could leave and tour europe . sarah ellis of inside soap praised steph for being so supportive , despite cameron 's " erratic behaviour " . steph appeared to " finally [ find ] happiness " when she fell in love with max cunningham ( matt littler ) . although attracted to her , max initially resisted steph as he believed her to be a " ditzy , air - headed blonde " , only interested in " bad boys . " when his younger brother tom ( ellis hollins ) developed a crush on her , the " kind , sensitive way " steph handled it altered his impression . littler explained , " max begins to realise there 's more to her than her looks . he begins to think she 's actually really nice and they become friends . " littler quit the series in 2008 , and producers planned his exit around max 's wedding to steph . he was killed off on their wedding day , as he pulled tom out of the path of a car . before she filmed the aftermath of max 's death , stenson listened to depressing music to reach her character 's bereaved mindset . stenson believed it was a mistake to kill max off , and " such an awful thing to happen to steph " , until she received " amazing feedback " about the storyline . in the aftermath , tom asked steph to be his mother , in a scene that then - executive producer bryan kirkwood deemed his favourite of the year . the interaction between the two was intended to represent " what hollyoaks is all about - lots of heart , relationships , friendships , love and loss . " kirkwood praised stenson 's performance throughout the storyline , particularly during in that scene . steph has a brief fling with niall rafferty ( barry sloane ) . the actors were required to film " steamy scenes " . stenson felt it a " hard challenge " to portray , she had to convince the audience that steph would genuinely get together with her husband 's killer . some viewers , including all the staff of inside soap believed their chemistry to be greater . stenson ultimately decided steph was " better suited " to max . she hoped that steph would have even " more drama around the corner " along with " a bit of comic relief " . illnesses epilepsy in a storyline which stenson found challenging to portray , steph was diagnosed with epilepsy . feeling a responsibility to members of the viewing public who have the disorder , the actress researched it extensively , assisted by mersey television . as well as reading about it , she visited several organisations , and spent a day on set with a teenage girl — close in age to steph — who has the condition , and who shared insights on the experiences she had been through . the actress felt trepidation about acting out seizures , but for her first one was assisted by the episode 's director , who had witnessed seizures first - hand , having once worked in a hospital . stenson felt privileged to be chosen for the storyline , particularly as epilepsy is typically a taboo subject which had not featured prominently in a soap opera before . barbara pinder of epilepsy action praised the serial for taking on the subject matter . hollyoaks researchers contacted the charity when developing the storyline , and pinder felt that the show succeeded in communicating the impact of steph 's diagnosis . she stated , " it is great to see a soap opera , specially one that is watched mainly by young people , look at the issue of epilepsy as it often gets ignored . " stenson was pleased the storyline was " reaching out to people " , and stated that she had received many letters from fans thanking her for highlighting an under - exposed subject , as well as positive feedback on the hollyoaks website . steph initially reacted angrily towards her diagnosis , which pinder confirmed was not uncommon , explaining : " the character is going through stages that someone with epilepsy is likely to go through . teenagers can have terrible trouble coming to terms with epilepsy at a time when they have a lot of other difficult things to deal with . it can also be quite a blow to their independence . " writing for the sunday mail , steve hendry assessed that the plot would serve to " bring the arrogant and often spiteful steph down a peg or two " , humbling her . stenson agreed that steph 's epilepsy would make her " more understanding " , inspiring thoughtfulness towards others , as opposed to her former rejection of those different to her . however , she observed that the condition may also serve to worsen her behaviour towards " a chosen few . " the character 's epilepsy was further explored in the hollyoaks spin - off in too deep , in which steph has a seizure and believes she is possessed by a spirit , almost causing her to drown . cervical cancer in 2010 , steph was diagnosed with cervical cancer and underwent a hysterectomy . the plot was said to echo the true story of former big brother contestant jade goody , who died of cervical cancer in 2009 . it was devised prior to the appointment of paul marquess as executive producer . he chose to continue with it , deciding that it would be interesting to give steph another serious storyline , and have a character that viewers " know and love going through a really hard time . " in preparation for the storyline , stenson studied the illness to give her a time - line of the experiences steph would undergo . she chose not to speak with any cancer patients about coping with cancer , believing that everyone handles it in their own personal way . additionally , she aimed to make steph 's realisation of her cancer as believable as possible , explaining that : " steph wouldn 't have any prior knowledge about what to expect , and i wanted to see it fresh through her eyes " . she was flattered to be trusted with the storyline , and found it particularly important to get her portrayal right as , during the previous year , she had fronted the arm against cervical cancer campaign . the producers aimed to send a message of early detection to the series ' young audience , and had steph initially ignore her symptoms . stenson hoped to raise awareness of cervical cancer , and educate women about the importance of regular smear tests . she stated that steph was confident about beating her illness , as " the alternative [ wa ] sn 't worth thinking about . " the character was originally reluctant to tell her family about the cancer for fear of hurting them , and was embarrassed to tell her love interest gilly roach ( anthony quinlan ) , not wanting him to have to look after her . as the storyline developed , steph cancelled her wedding to gilly due to his refusal to accept that her condition was terminal . quinlan explained that his character impeded her ability to deal with the situation , with his disbelief contrasting steph 's attempt to " take this in her stride and [ ... ] spend quality time with the people she loves before she goes . " marquess deemed the storyline as a whole one which could only be depicted the way it was in hollyoaks , aiming to tell a " tragic story " with a " sweet and humorous tone " . " a comedy element of the storyline had steph use her cancer as a sob story to enter a talent show , recruiting orphan tom to take to the stage with her , giving her story further emotional impact . stenson commented , " deep down she knows she 's not a fantastic singer , but she thought the judges would feel sorry for her and put her through . " according to quinlan , viewer feedback on the storyline was " brilliant " . he stated that viewers were upset by steph 's illness , and that it had even brought his own mother to tears . departure in 2010 , it was announced that stenson had decided to quit the serial to pursue a career in musical theatre . she deemed it " one of the most difficult decisions [ she had ] ever made " , stating that hollyoaks had been her " dream job " and that she would miss her friends in the cast and crew . she made the decision to resign around june 2009 , but was convinced by then - producer lucy allan to play out a long exit storyline , which concluded filming in september 2010 . before filming her final scenes , stenson secured her first west end role . though she had previously felt ready to leave the series , when the time came , she was upset because she felt the reality of it . she called her final scenes " really sad and emotional " , and stated that while she had not had any input in steph 's exit , she was happy with it . hollyoaks devised an arson plot to begin on guy fawkes night 2010 , as a result of which some characters would die . the production team intended to keep details of who would die secret until transmission . prior to broadcast , stenson revealed that steph would risk her own life to save amy barnes ( ashley slanina - davies ) , leah barnes ( jessica croft - lane ) and lucas hay . the actress explained that " she stares death in the face every day because of her cancer , so thinks she really has nothing to lose now . " stenson performed one of her own stunts during filming , with the rest undertaken by a stunt double . a promotional trailer for the episodes aired across the channel 4 network , featuring steph on fire . in the event , steph rescued amy and her children from a burning building but refused to leave herself , saying she was ready to die . her exit received a positive reaction from fans on the social networking website twitter , with stenson stating that she was " honoured " by the response . steph 's legacy continued following her death , with her husband , family and friends left to come to terms with their grief . on 29 november 2011 it was confirmed stenson was to reprise the role for a one off guest appearance as steph in which she appears as an angel to doug carter who had attempted suicide and she convinces him that his life matters . steph tells doug something and he shows frankie a special song that steph had recorded for her . frankie , overjoyed that her daughter had not forgotten her , wept whilst angel steph looked on happily and placed a hand on her shoulder before winking to tom and returning to heaven , stating she was " ready for her solo . " reception stenson received several award nominations for her portrayal of steph . she was nominated in the " best comedy performance " category at the 2005 and 2006 british soap awards , and for " best dramatic performance " in 2009 . she received a long - list nomination for the " best actress " accolade at the 2005 national television awards . in 2008 , stenson was nominated for the " sexiest female " inside soap award , which she found flattering . a further nomination in the same category followed in 2010 , accompanied by nominations for " best actress " , and " best dramatic performance " for steph learning she had cancer . the character was selected as one of the " top 100 british soap characters " by industry experts for a poll to be run by what 's on tv , with readers able to vote for their favourite character to discover " who is soap 's greatest legend ? " following her departure , her co - stars commented favourably on the actress and character , with jorgie porter deeming her an " ultimate original " , gemma merna stating that she " was hollyoaks " , and ricky whittle admitting that he cried during the airing of her final scenes . television and entertainment website holy soap did not see steph 's fire death coming , calling her actions brave and her ten - year duration " mammoth " . they described her most memorable moment as telling niall she did not love him and then watching him commit suicide . inside soap said if there was an award for " the unluckiest character in soap " , steph would certainly win . in his column for the guardian , television critic jim shelley stated that it was time for steph to go , having " suffered enough " during her tenure . recapping her ten years in hollyoaks , shelley wrote : sarah welsh of the south wales echo gave the stalking storyline a negative review . she called both plot and acting " ridiculous " and commented that while she often felt sorry for the serial being snubbed at the national soap awards , " this is not the way to raise the game . " steph 's relationships were a focal point of many reviews . the daily mirror 's nicola methven and polly hudson found a 2004 love triangle between steph , her sister debbie and love interest dan hunter ( andrew mcnair ) " surprising compelling " . grace dent of the guardian observed of her failed engagement to fernando : " with the best will in the world , i don 't feel that marriage was ever going to last " . dent had previously named steph singing the sugababes ' " about you now " at max 's funeral one of her four favourite soap moments of 2008 . roz laws of the sunday mercury felt there was " plenty of chemistry " between steph and gilly . their relationship was frequently commented on by the daily mail 's jaci stephen in her weekly soap column . she expressed disinterest in steph and cheryl 's rivalry over gilly , and found it implausible that she and jem would quarrel over him . when the two finally admitted their feelings for one another in may 2010 , stephen accurately predicted that their happiness would be short - lived . she highlighted a lack of subtlety in the scripting of the lead - up to their wedding , observing : " of course , you know that the moment she says that nothing is going to stop her marrying gilly , the grim reaper will be pulling up in his hearse , shortly behind the wedding car . " stephen derided steph 's singing ambition during her x factor plot line , deeming her voice " average " and writing that she did not need to use her cancer for the sympathy vote , as her singing alone would be enough for that . she later questioned when steph would accept that she was not intended to be a singer , commenting that her " ambition could not be made of sterner stuff " , but that simon cowell and the remainder of the population would breathe " a major sigh of relief " at the abandonment of her showbiz dreams . more positively , stephen wrote that she loved the bravery in " both the humour and pathos that steph 's manipulation of her cancer brings . " reviewing the steph - centric spin - off in too deep for the times , tim teeman commented that while late - night hollyoaks episodes had previously been amusing , " sexed - up " versions of the main show , with in too deep it became " less , more what lies beneath " . the episode was selected as recommended viewing by laws of the sunday mercury . the launch of hollyoaks later series one , in which niall returns to target steph , was named a " satellite pick of the day " by the daily record . christopher howse , writing " " for the daily telegraph — a column chronicling tabloid culture — named steph and her family joint tenth in a list of top ten deans , which included entrants such as dean koontz , dean gaffney and richard dean anderson .