Stephen Gottlieb is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Lochie Daddo.

They included Phoebe's pregnancy dramas, her baby nearly dying and living in fear of their mentally ill lodger Russell Butler (Steven Whittaker).

Their departure story depicts them moving away to open a record store with the compensation received from Stephen's accident.

On 11 October 1992, Shelli-Anne Couch from The Sydney Morning Herald revealed that Daddo had joined the cast of Neighbours as Stephen Gottlieb, "a record store manager with an enormous amount of compassion.

"[2]While he was at the graveyard visiting his dead fiancée, Stephen noticed a pregnant Phoebe Bright (Simone Robertson) by the graveside of her ex-boyfriend, Todd (Kristian Schmid).

[2] A BBC Online writer explained that "Stephen's hippy upbringing made him yearn for a traditional life and he saw in Phoebe, pregnant as she was, a ready-made family.

[6] Stephen became worried that if Hope died, Phoebe would not want to marry him and his feelings of unease grew when everyone began talking about Todd.

Benito (George Spartels) and Cathy Alessi (Elspeth Ballantyne) offer the pair their back garden as they lost the original venue.

[7] Writers created tense scenes for the nuptials with nurse Pam Willis (Sue Jones) interrupting their vows.

[7] When Phoebe and Stephen suffered financial difficulties, they decided to take in lodger Russell Butler (Steven Whittaker).

[10] Daddo told Women's Own writer Mary Fletcher that the storyline made him relive his own brother's accident, which left him requiring a wheelchair.

[11] In July 1993, Chrissie Camp from TV Week reported that Daddo had decided to quit Neighbours, after twelve months of playing Stephen.

[14] Camp revealed that Daddo would film his final scenes on 6 August, while his character would remain on-screen until October.

[14] Daddo stated that the decision was mutual between himself and producers, saying "They didn't know what to do with Stephen next and I thought a year in Neighbours was long enough for me.

"[14] Stephen's exit storyline saw him and Phoebe leave Erinsborough to run a record shop in Anson's Corner.

[5] Twenty-seven years after Stephen's departure from the series, his brother Mark Gottlieb (Bruce Samazan) was reintroduced into Neighbours.

[15] Stephen was the eldest of three children born to Dave Gottlieb (David Murray; Ivar Kants) and Sally Dawes (Jane Little; Helen Rollinson) on a hippy commune.

He was christened Freedom, but as they grew up, Stephen and his brother Mark rejected their parents' ways, while their younger sister, Serendipity (Raelee Hill) embraced them.

When Stephen became the manager of a record store in Elliot Park, he proposed to long-time girlfriend, Libby and she accepted.

One night at a party, Mark spiked Stephen's drink, leaving him unable to drive Libby home.

Stephen first appears at the cemetery where he sees pregnant teenager Phoebe visiting the grave of her recently deceased lover, Todd Landers.

The two begin to chat and they realize they have a lot in common as Stephen's fiancé, Libby had not long died in a car crash and is buried in the same cemetery as Todd.

On the day of Stephen and Phoebe's wedding, local nurse Pam Willis (Sue Jones) brings them a healthy Hope in time for the ceremony.

It is revealed that Russell had spent time in a mental institution after suffering a breakdown following his wife and baby leaving him, due to his drug use.

Stephen struggles to come to terms with being in a wheelchair and when his estranged brother, Mark arrives in Erisborough, he is less than happy to see him as he still blames him for Libby's death.

During Helen's birthday party at the newly reopened Waterhole, Stephen surprises Phoebe by getting up out of his wheelchair and walks towards her unaided.

A writer for the BBC's Neighbours website stated that Stephen's most notable moment was "Fainting while watching Phoebe giving birth on video.

"[16] The Sydney Morning Herald's Shelli-Anne Couch commented "Two snakes, two dead bodies, two live ones, a cemetery and a budding romance for good measure – could Lachlan Daddo have picked a better entry into the soapie world?

[14] During a feature on the show, Joanna Murray-Smith from The Age criticised the explosion storyline, saying "Sure Lochie (Daddo, from the Beaumaris-y version of the Quaid brothers) was crippled, so it wasn't a complete waste of time, but it was over in a flash with a couple of extras in emergency service uniforms.