Hollyoaks icon Stephanie Waring 'distraught' and 'begged' soap bosses not to drop her
Hollyoaks icon Stephanie Waring has confessed she "begged" producers not to cut her from the show. The actress, who has played Cindy Cunningham for almost 30 years, found herself among the 20 stars given the chop from the Channel 4 soap and has now opened up about the emotional turmoil of her departure.
The star, famed for playing Cindy since the dawn of the soap, spoke out for the first time since the shocking news broke, describing how she was reduced to tears and left reeling in shock at the announcement of her exit.
"I was being drip fed the names of the people who were going, and I remember crying at one of them, and I had this gut feeling that I would be too", the 46 year old shared. Clinging to hope, Stephanie recalled signing "a year-long contract" just before her world was turned upside down."
She continued: "Everyone was telling me I would be fine as I'm an original character", she said. Yet, when judgment day arrived, Stephanie was "very distraught" to learn that her long-standing role in the Chester-set drama wouldn't keep her safe.
The bosses delivered the news "read from a script", with her character's fate held back until the last moment, reports the Mirror.
"They got to the end and said 'And with that, we will be losing Cindy from the show'. I just kept saying 'I don't understand'. I was very distraught, I didn't take it well - I was probably the most dramatic person they told", Stephanie told The Sun.
"I was clutching at anything - telling them 'but I was the first person to give birth on the show! ' I could see the distress I was causing them because they were upset that I was so upset."
A devastated Stephanie left the meeting in floods of tears, later finding solace in the arms of her co-stars and her fiance Tom Brookes who consoled her as she wept.
In a major shake-up announced in March, Hollyoaks bosses revealed that from September 2024, the beloved soap will air just three times a week instead of five. Additionally, a daring one-year time jump is set to occur, leading to a spate of departures including fan favourites Owen Warner, Haiesha Mistry, Jamie Lomas, and Ross Adams.
Earlier this month, Stephanie turned to Instagram to express her initial shock and sorrow about leaving, writing: "I can't believe I am writing this and I have taken the last two weeks to process and come to terms with the shock of what I am about to say", before sharing the heartbreaking news: "I am heartbroken to announce that my character of Cindy has been included in the actors reduction of Hollyoaks."
