Mary Stephanie "Steph" Stokes (also Turner and Forsythe) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale.

On 9 December 2005, Kris Green from Digital Spy reported that Nick Brimble had been cast as her brother, Terence Turner, and that his arrival would lead to a confrontation.

Of her decision to leave, Chase stated "four years ago Steve Frost, our then producer of Emmerdale, presented me with a complex character.

I hope Steph's fans will agree, she was an unpredictable and intriguing crazy lady and I loved her but there is only so much a good girl can do!"

[2] A reporter from the ITV Press Centre revealed Emmerdale had planned a funeral storyline for Alan Turner, following the death of actor (Richard Thorp).

An ex-convict, she first appeared at her daughter Tricia's (Sheree Murphy) engagement party in 2002 and hit her fiancé Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock), and then kissed him the night before the wedding.

Now that she had decided to put down some roots, Steph began working for Rodney Blackstock (Patrick Mower) at the Antiques Barn.

When she discovered Rodney was not as flush as she thought, Steph jilted him and moved in with her father Alan (Richard Thorp) at the B&B.

The two women immediately started making plans to open a salon in the village and got Alan to finance their business.

Faced with being deserted by the two people closest to her and losing her inheritance, Steph planned to split them up by spreading a vicious rumour that Shelley was a gold-digger.

Making a split second decision, Steph decided not to raise the alarm to rescue Shelley and threw her suitcase overboard.

Life seemed to settle for Steph when she returned from the disastrous ferry journey, keeping quiet about Shelley's death.

Having fallen in love for the first time, Steph started to open up about her troubled childhood and confessed that her older brother Terence (Nick Brimble) had sexually abused her as a child.

The relationship fell apart as Steph realised she'd married a cold, calculating man who was determined to keep her in line.

However, with Alan and family friend Betty Eagleton (Paula Tilbrook) on her side, and skeptical about Adam, it looked as if Steph had at least two allies.

Steph is allowed compassionate day release to attend her father's funeral on 30 October 2013, escorted by a prison warden.

Later at Alan's wake at Home Farm, Steph persuades the warden to unlock her handcuffs so that she can make a speech about her father.

[4] In 2017, a writer from Inside Soap reflected on the character, writing, "Lorraine Chase created one of Emmerdale's most entertaining villainesses – they should bring her back, pronto!