Steph Roach (also Dean and 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 29 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 Rafferty'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. Steph 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 (Anthony Quinlan) was viewed unfavourable by most. Stenson has been nominated for several different awards for her portrayal of Steph.
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 2010 had become the longest-serving female cast member remaining. Steph originally featured in the series as a recurring character for two stints. Producers were impressed with Stenson's performance and by September 2000, they had invited her to join the show fulltime. Stenson revealed that Steph would return with "greater prominence".
Steph was introduced as a friend of Zara's, who was initially "quite naïve" 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 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. This inspired a rivalry with fellow actor Summer Shaw (Summer Strallen), which saw Steph "determined to keep the limelight on her." 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.
Writers introduced Steph into a friendship group with the show's other teenagers who included Zara Morgan (Kelly Greenwood), Abby Davies (Helen Noble), Lisa Hunter (Gemma Atkinson), Lee Hunter (Alex Carter) and Brian Drake (Jonathan Le Billon). Steph was portrayed differently to the rest of the group, with the example of a story involving a rumour club. The students are set a task of creating a rumour club to assess how quickly gossip can spread around a community. The assignment is supposed to be fun but the possibility of people getting emotionally hurt excites Steph. Stenson told an Inside Soap reporter that Steph's motivation is "purely evil". She enjoys "setting the cat amongst the pigeons" and watching her handiwork play out. Writers showcased Steph's "bitchy" side perfectly in the story, as she creates a rumour about Mandy Richardson (Sarah Jayne Dunn) and Laura Burns (Lesley Johnston) being lesbians and in a relationship. Lee dislikes Steph's plans but writers showed the Steph's nasty influence over her friends when Lee is too afraid to oppose her. Stenson concluded it showed Steph disliked other "pretty girls" and "likes nothing better than being a cow" towards them.
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 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 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