A HOLLYOAKS legend looks set to return to the soap – two years after being axed from the show and slamming programme bosses.
Stephanie Waring will be making her way back to the Channel 4 programme as Cindy Cunningham – after she famously lost the role during the show’s mass axing two years ago amid budget cuts.
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Hollyoaks actress Stephanie Waring is making a return to the soap Credit: David Fisher
She will be heading back to the show as Cindy Credit: Lime Pictures
The actress is understood to have already kicked off filming on the role on the Chester set.
A source said: “Steph leaving was easily the biggest shock of the cast cuts, after all, she has been there since day one.
“Fans have long hoped that she would one day be back.”
They added to Metro: “The cast and crew are thrilled to have her back in the fold and fans will be equally excited – Cindy will always be at the centre of Hollyoaks and that won’t change when she comes back.”
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The star was left furious when she was originally axed from the show Credit: Getty
Her character was the longest-running one at the time of her axing Credit: Channel 4 / YouTube
Channel 4 bosses decided to give Steph the boot after 28 years playing the role.
The actress was understood to be left devastated at the move – with it coming totally out of the blue for the star.
Following her axing, Steph wrote in her book how she was sat down by the Hollyoaks bosses who read her a pre-prepared statement to confirm she was being dropped from the show.
Writing in her book Breaking the Script, Stephanie said: “I walked into the office. There were two people there for the meeting: the newly appointed executive producer – a stalwart behind the scenes in various roles for years – and the long-standing head of production, who I’d known since I began on the show back in 1996.
“They asked me to sit. They explained that they’d be reading a scripted statement. As I listened, I could barely process what was being said. I was just waiting for the words I longed to hear: ‘And therefore, we’d like Cindy to stay.’
“But as the statement neared its close, before the final words were even spoken, I felt a tear roll down my cheek. I was shaking as I looked at the two of them.
“Then it happened. ‘And with that said, we will be losing Cindy from the show. I’m so sorry, Steph.’ The world stopped for a second as I replayed those words in my head. Then… I lost my s***.
“‘What? No! You mean you’re not taking me to the 30th?’ I blurted out, referencing the upcoming anniversary of the show – a milestone that meant so much to the long-standing cast.
“‘I don’t understand. No, I don’t understand. I don’t understand!’ I was frantic. ‘But I’ve been so loyal. Please, no. This is my life. I love my job – please, no!’
“Hysterically crying, I repeated myself, hoping one of them would see my distress and take it all back. Had they made a mistake? My world felt like it was imploding. Through my tears, I demanded to know, ‘How am I on that list? Cindy is an original! I’m the longest-serving female character. I was the first person to give birth on the show.’
“I was clutching at anything, anything at all, to make them realise their mistake. How? Why was I the only original being cut?
“I couldn’t understand. It felt so cold. I could see the distress I was causing them.”
Despite her furious meltdowns, Stephanie appears to have patched things up with show bosses upon her return to the soap.
