Steph Roach (also Dean and Cunningham) is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Carley Stenson.

[1] 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.

[2] Sarah Moolla of The People branded her "superficial",[9] the Daily Record's Merle Brown referred to her as "a true red-blooded female,[10] and Emma Johnson of the Liverpool Echo assessed that she had a "couldn't-care-less" attitude.

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."

[2] 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.

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.

[1] Her first lovers included Christian virgin Brian Drake and football playing "lothario" Scott Anderson (Daniel Hyde).

"[19] When his younger brother Tom (Ellis Hollins) developed a crush on her, the "kind, sensitive way" Steph handled it altered his impression.

[22] 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.

As well as reading about it, she visited several organisations,[8] 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.

[11] 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.

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.

"[11] 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,[2] as well as positive feedback on the Hollyoaks website.

[11] 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.

"[11] 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.

"[3] 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.

[28] The producers aimed to send a message of early detection to the series' young audience, and had Steph initially ignore her symptoms.

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.

[5] She made the decision to resign around June 2009, but was convinced by then-producer Lucy Allan to play out a long exit storyline,[33] which concluded filming in September 2010.

[40] Her exit received a positive reaction from fans on the social networking website Twitter, with Stenson stating that she was "honoured" by the response.

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.

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 fulfils the requirement by saving Leo Valentine (Brian Bovell) from choking, however discovers that Small Fortune is, in fact, a donkey.

She falls for dance teacher Fernando Fernandez (Jeronimo Best), inspiring jealousy in Gilly Roach (Anthony Quinlan), who has feelings for Steph.

When Il Gnosh, a local Italian restaurant catches fire, Steph saves Amy Barnes and her children, but chooses to remain inside and die.

"[50] 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",[51] and Ricky Whittle admitting that he cried during the airing of her final scenes.

[52] Television and entertainment website Holy Soap did not see Steph's fire death coming, calling her actions brave and her ten-year duration "mammoth".

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.

[60] 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.