Steph Cunningham

Hollyoaks character
File:Hollyoaks steph.jpg
Steph Dean
Played by	Carley Stenson
Duration	2000-
Date of Birth	Unknown
Marital Status	In a relationship with Max Cunningham
Occupation	-
Family	Johnno, Frankie, Jake, Craig, Presley, Debbie

Stephanie "Steph" Dean is a fictional character in the long-running British Channel 4 television soap opera Hollyoaks. Her stage name is Stephanie De La Dean. She is the longest running female currently in the show.

She is played by actress Carley Stenson.

Character history

When Steph first arrived she was Zara Morgan's bitchy school friend. She loved nothing more than humiliating and bullying others. Her most notable campaign was against Lisa Hunter who hung around with Steph and her friends Abby Davies and Zara, making her self-harm issues worse with her bullying tactics. Her cruelty towards Lisa reached a climax when she obtained photographic evidence of Lisa's boyfriend Brian Drake cheating on her with Zara. Whilst Lisa was singing as part of the show at the school prom Steph projected a photo of Brian and Zara kissing onto the wall for all to see. Lisa, heartbroken, self harmed to the extent that she ended up in hospital. Steph took great delight in telling everyone Lisa had tried to kill herself. Steph ended up having to grovel to her friends who were disgusted by what she had done. This never stopped Steph having sly digs at Lisa about self harm, especially when she discovered that Lisa's brother-in-law Toby Mills was the serial killer who had attacked Steph and left her with epilepsy. Steph and Lisa finally put the past behind them when they started university.Steph apologised for the way she had treated Lisa over the years.

Steph has always been aware of her attractiveness. During her school days she had a bit of a reputation as the school slapper. She slept with Brian Drake whilst he was going out with Zara, and footballer Scott Anderson to name two, but we were always led to believe she had also slept with off screen characters too. Following Steph's diagnosis of epilepsy she worried that guys would no longer be attracted to her so in order to attempt to prove to herself that she was still desirable she got together with Darren Osborne. He later dumped her after she had a seizure. Steph's attack by Toby Mills was the turning point where she calmed down and became nicer towards others, probably because she realised through the reactions she had from people about her epilepsy that it was wrong to judge others. That doesn't mean that flashes of the old Steph don't rear their head from time to time, but these days she does consider others feelings more.

Steph has acted in a television commercial for rugs and, like her older sister Debbie, enjoys singing. Although she complains about them, she maintains a close relationship with most of her family, the only exception being her father Johnno, who impregnated and ran off with a nineteen-year-old and her baby half-brother, whom she has never met.

Steph had a relationship was with OCD sufferer Cameron Clark. She spent a while in denial about her feelings for him, mainly because Cameron's geeky image didn't fit in with the type of man she usually went for. In the end she decided that didn't matter. Their relationship was far from easy though as it became clear Cameron was suffering from OCD. Steph showed everyone how she had really grown up and changed from the school-bully she once was by sticking with Cameron and helping him through his problems. She went on to prove once more she had changed by setting up an audition for Cameron with a local band even though she knew that it would mean her losing him and the end of their relationship. Putting on a brave face she waved Cameron off as he went on tour around Europe with the band.

Career in showbiz

She, meanwhile, stayed in Hollyoaks and took up a hatred of Becca Dean (her sister-in-law) because of her affair with Justin, a schoolboy. She failed her exams in college and thus had to retake them. She appeared in fictional television show 'Bid Crazy TV' and got into a fight with the presenter.

She then tried her hand at singing. She first tried to be in a girl band (X-Pose) with step-brother Darren as her agent. She obtained £500 from her mother for a film reel which she required to audition. For the next £500 she had to lap-dance. A sly Darren however, kept £150 off the money earned. She then found out that she had been conned along with four other girls. Steph's next escapade saw her doing a kiss and tell story on fictional celebrity Joe Jones who she met after her sister Debbie (played by Jodi Albert) returned for a brief visit and set up an audition for Steph to try to become one of Joe's backing singers. Steph failed the audition and, feeling jealous of her sister's success after hearing she had won a job in a West End show, decided she was determined to get fame one way or another. She went to a party that Debbie had told her about and met the star who she went on to sleep with, believing that he would invite her on tour with him. However, he did not and instead humiliated her, ignoring her and flirting with other women. Outraged, Steph sold her story to a tabloid and a TV show angering her family and causing Debbie to lose her job. By late 2006, Steph's fame had fizzled out, and when Darren had her show up at the Loft and called various press to try to promote her appearance, the only attention she got was a man asking for change. Darren then arranged for her to sleep with a footballer, in hopes this would extend her celebrity. Craig was furious and tried to talk her out of prostituting herself, but Steph reluctantly went along. The next morning, Steph realized the man had lied to Darren and was actually just a mascot for a football team. A humiliated Steph told Darren she was done and ended the episode sadly looking over the scrapbook she had made of her time in the tabloid spotlight.

Getting her inheritance

She has since calmed down her dreams of showbiz but still craves attention. She recently discovered her great auntie Reenie had left her inheritance to her, but there was a twist. Steph had to do a charitable act in order to claim her inheritance. Money-hungry Darren helped her but was convinced she would not succeed as she, like him, just "isn't nice, doesn't do friends and is only doing it for the money". He was proved correct for a while, despite Steph's best attempts to show he was wrong. However, within this time she formed an unlikely bond with science 'geek' Elliot and decided to help him with his new rocket project. Unfortunately, she and Darren accidentally ruined the big blast off by telling Elliot the exhaust had fallen off, and then trying to fix it with chewing gum. Steph continued trying to earn her inheritance, with Darren suggesting adopting a 3rd world baby, in the style of Madonna or Angelina Jolie. Steph was against this idea at first, but soon warmed to the idea, planning to adopt a baby girl and call it Buttercup. However, she later changed her mind after looking after her nephew Charlie, claiming it was too much work and that, "me and babies are just not compatible".

Steph finally succeeded in her quest for her inheritance when Leo Valentine began choking on a pork scratching in The Dog In The Pond pub. Steph gave him the heimlich manoeuvre and he landed on the pool table behind him. Steph gave him CPR and he lived. This was enough to get her inheritance, however the inheritance turned out to be a donkey named Small Fortune. She managed to ship it to a donkey sanctuary.

Elliot "Girlfriend"

Steph was surprised when she learned that it was arranged for Elliot to be married to Rhiannon, a friend from Wales. Steph agreed to pose as Elliot’s girlfriend to convince his mother that he didn’t want to get married. Steph undertook Welsh lessons, but called off the plan when Elliot said her clothes made her look like a prostitute. After he apologised she again agreed to help. Things didn’t go according to plan, however. Elliot called it off at the last minute and introduced Steph as his friend; then Steph insulted Elliot’s mother with her put-on Welsh accent. When Elliot gave in and agreed to marry Rhiannon, Steph convinced him to stand up to his mother and he decided to stay.

Steph and Max

Steph recently took a job working at MOBS. She also acted as a babysitter for Tom. When Steph picked up Tom from kids’ club, Tom tried to get Steph’s attention by doing starjumps. This did not work until he fell down and hurt his knee. Steph then went to help him and brought him back to O.B. From then on Tom was smitten with Steph, and he even tried to impress her by looking smart with his shirt and new hair, and even put a flower in her bag. O.B. set up a dinner for two for Max and Steph, but little Tom presumed it was for himself and Steph. Steph and Max clicked onto Tom’s first crush, and Tom was put off when Steph talked about kissing.

Steph later left to visit Debbie in London. While there, Steph fell down a flight of stairs and ended up spending three hours in hospital. She returned just as her brother Craig revealed he loved his best friend, John Paul. Steph was the only one of the Deans to support Craig, smiling when she saw Craig and John Paul run off together while the Deans and the McQueens argued on the street. When Craig came out, she showed disbelief that her brother could get a boyfriend and she could not.

However, recently Max has showed a strong attraction to Steph, partially due to how well she gets along with Tom. But Max was too nervous to ask her out, only asking her to babysit Tom. Steph was shocked when Tom told her that he’d like her as his mother. When Max returned and offered to share a bottle of wine, Steph claimed she couldn’t, saying she didn’t want to be a mother. After Max’s estranged wife Clare kidnapped Katy and was presumed dead, Max plunged into grief and remorse for bringing Clare into the lives of the people of Chester. Steph felt sorry for him and invited him for a drink. Max tried to kiss her, but soon claimed he was done with women. Steph and Max began to misread each other and, even as they developed feelings for each other, assumed there was no chance at a relationship. When Max took Tom to the safari park to see an elephant named Romeo, that Steph had sponsored for him, Steph found him and they finally told each other that they liked each other and agreed to get into a relationship, despite their differences. They shared their first kiss in the barn of the safari park.

Steph and Max enjoyed each other’s company, but Tom began to resent her involvement in their lives. One day she overheard Tom tell Max that he hated her, which deeply hurt her. Steph felt that she could not deal with children. Frankie told her she was not suited to be a mother, and Jake teased her about the time she let Craig’s pet gerbil die. Steph’s confidence continued to shatter, and Max tried to help support her by buying Tom a pet gerbil named Steph. One day, Tom was off school and Max had to take care of an inspection at MOBS. Steph agreed to look after Tom. Frankie guilted her into taking care of baby Charlie, and also picking up new foster brother Newt from school. It was too much for Steph, especially when Tom threw a tantrum after his gerbil disappeared. He told her the only Steph she cared about was herself. When she found the gerbil, she told him the gerbil was the only Steph he’d ever love. By the end of the day, she told Max she couldn’t do it anymore.

The next day, at Tony Hutchison’s 30th birthday party, she overheard Max tell Jack that although Max was his world, if Steph didn't care for Tom, then she shouldn't have to be in a relationship with him. Steph angrily told him she did like Tom. While she was alone, she helped Tom repair a broken toy and read him a story. Max saw them. After putting Tom to bed, she asked Max if she could still see Tom sometimes. Max told her he knew he had lots of baggage, but when he was with her, he didn't feel that way, and could they please try again. She kissed him and then pushed him down on the couch.

Steph continued her attempts to find a showbiz career, beating out new arrival Summer Shaw for the lead role in a health and safety video, and not exactly being a gracious winner. Due to OB's interest in Summer, she began working at MOBS. Steph was jealous and tried to undermine her throughout her first day. Matters boiled over when Steph began singing (badly) to try to attract customers. After some time, Summer decided to sing. Steph accused Summer of trying to take her idea, and threw juice on her. Summer then threw juice on Steph, and they had to be pulled apart by Max and OB.

Trivia

The character was known as Steph Webster when she first appeared in Hollyoaks. However, her name was changed when the rest of her family were introduced.

Family

• Father: Johnno Dean
• Mother: Frankie Osborne
• Brothers: Jake Dean, Craig Dean
• Half brother: Presley Dean
• Sister: Debbie Dean
• Nephew: Charlie Dean

External links

• Steph Dean on the Hollyoaks website