Played By: Lorraine Chase. Lorraine was born 16 July 1951, South London, England, UK

See IMDB entry for: Lorraine Chase

First Apparance in Emmerdale: 3rd September 2002

Character's Birthdate: In the official books said to be Born: 1956, however this has now been revised and she was born 2nd July 1953.

Probably the eldest of Alan Turner's two children as when her brother appeared in the series he was a undergraduate student. However Steph's daughter Tricia would have already been born.

Character Married: ?? Stokes

Relatives: mother of Tricia Stokes, daughter of Alan Turner and probably his 1st wife Jill (played by Patricia Maynard and appeared in the series around 1984-1986). Steph has a brother Terence Turner (who appeared in Emmerdale in 1985-1986 and was played by Stephen Marchant. However this is the first time we have met "Steph"

Thank You! The Following has been Written & provided by Eithne
© 2003

Character: Stephanie “Steph” Stokes

Biography:

Steph arrived in early September 2002 and immediately made a lasting impression on then son in law to be Marlon Dingle, by leaving him flat on the floor. Steph had punched Marlon, thinking that he had been cheating on Tricia with another girl. Tricia demanded her mother leave, but Steph had driven all the way from London and wanted to catch up with her shocked daughter.

Alan stepped in and said that his daughter Steph could stay with him in the B&B for the night. But Steph decided to stay in the village and eventually made up with her daughter, Tricia, whom she had been fighting with because Tricia had caught her mother in bed with her then boyfriend.

On the night before Tricia’s wedding to Marlon, Steph ended up kissing Marlon. But in the end the wedding never happened and Paddy and Emily ended up getting married.

Steph later started selling dodgy items to the villagers and blew out most of the lights in the village, with her Christmas lighting display. Steph started working with Rodney in the antiques barn, but he was soon put out by her sales techniques. He said that she couldn’t sell her gear in the barn, but was forced to offer her a return to his business, after he wasn’t pulling in near as many customers after she left.

Taken From:- 1st September 2002: The Sun Online:- Your Guide To This Week On Emmerdale
The Sun Newspaper Online - UK's biggest selling newspaper

Tricia is not happy to see her mother Steph

"" TRICIA'S mother Steph makes a shock entrance in The Woolpack - and lays out Tricia’s fiancé Marlon with a
single punch!

Steph, played by TV favourite Lorraine Chase, wants to get back into her daughter’s life.

Steph’s had a call from her father Alan Turner, who left a message on her answering machine saying that Tricia was having trouble with a guy called Marlon.

So when she arrives in Emmerdale, she’s no idea she has walked into Tricia’s engagement party.

“Naturally Steph has raced to defend her daughter,” says Lorraine. “But unfortunately she acts first and asks questions later.

“She belts Marlon and then rushes to comfort her astonished daughter. It makes for a memorable reunion.”

But Tricia is horrified. She hasn’t seen her mother for years - and then she marches back in and knocks the man Tricia loves to the ground.

Steph protests that she was only protecting her, but Tricia is furious with her mother, both for hitting Marlon and for presuming she can walk back into Tricia’s life.

And she’s livid with her grandfather for getting in touch with Steph in the first place. Any trouble she had with Marlon was nothing to do with anyone else, argues Tricia angrily.

“Steph is just as stunned as Tricia,” says Lorraine. “She didn’t know Tricia was getting engaged.

“But Steph’s not the sort of woman to apologise for her actions. She’s every bit as headstrong as her daughter.

“Steph felt unloved as a child and rebelled against her busy father, Turner, when she was younger. Eventually she ran off and married a man her family didn’t approve of.

“It’s clear she’s flirted with the wrong side of the law as she sneers that her husband was ‘the biggest waster in north London’.

“Turner’s phone call prompted her to try to build bridges with her family. She’s getting to the age where she doesn’t want to spend the rest of her life on her own.

“Her hard-hitting entrance is a bit of a shock for all concerned, but it’s a great way to join the show.”

Tricia orders her mother to leave, but Steph has driven all the way from London and flatly refuses to go straight back.

So Turner steps in and insists his daughter must stay until the next day at least. He wants to revive his relationship with Steph - however difficult that might be.

Next day, Steph sets off to try to talk to Tricia, and Turner goes along to keep an eye on them.

“Steph announces that she wants to stay in Emmerdale to heal the family rift,” says Lorraine.

“Tricia is horrified, but Steph won’t be put off. She is determined she’s not going to travel all this way without trying to get to know both her father and her daughter a lot better.”

Steph is clearly the sort of person who has a whole rack of skeletons in her cupboard and Lorraine, famous for the Campari ads in the 1970s, is delighted to be playing the role.

She was particularly impressed to receive a royal seal of approval on her first day on the show - the Queen
visited the set as Lorraine arrived to start work.

“She was very interested in the programme and she wished me luck,” said Lorraine.

“Steph’s the sort of lady who is used to getting her own way. I like her, and I think we’re going to have some fun together.” ""

Teletext: Diary 4th/5th September 2002

Today's the day when Lorraine Chase finally arrives on the Emmerdale scene to play Tricia's mother and it's a pretty explosive entrance too.

"She's the sort of woman who puts out that she's concerned for averyone else," says Lorraine. "But she is just in it for all she can get. But I don't think she's a malicious soul."

Lorraine reckons her character, Steph, is one of those who thinks she can "pick up precisely where she laft off". She wants to be a mum again.

Emmerdale Teletext Diary 28/29 August 2002

Emmerdale is going to be a huge challenge for Lorraine Chase, who has joined the soap as Tricia's mum.

Not only is this her first major TV role for some time, it also marks a return to work for the courageous actress. Last year she was horrifically injured in a car crash.

Her face was badly damaged and one ear was almost severed, but she was determined to battle on. "I feel lucky to be alive," she says, after 18 months out of work

The Sun 24th March 2003

EMMERDALE

Weekdays ITV1

STEPH'S dreams of a fabulous new life in the south of France are shattered - in the back of a rubbish lorry.

Antiques dealer Steph is in her element after reaching a deal with Rodney to share the £100,000 proceeds from a sale of a valuable figurine he had found in a house clearance. The couple sleep together, but in the morning Steph dumps him, leaving him very hurt.

"Steph doesn’t care about anyone but herself," admits Lorraine Chase, who plays Tricia’s pushy mum.

"She has a real go at Nicola, which leaves her speechless - for once! Rodney is keen on Steph but she is just keen on manipulating him."

Steph pretends to leave behind the other statues she has in her collection as security when she gets ready to go off and sell the figurine, but in fact all she leaves is a case full of bricks.

Steph is all packed and ready to go, but Nicola - upset to see her dad cast aside - grabs her bags and hurls them in to the dust cart, smashing the ornament.

"Steph goes ballistic when she finds out," says Lorraine.

"She can’t believe her fortune has been snatched away. She screams that the figurine was worth a fortune and her life is wrecked. She locks herself in Mill Cottage and refuses to come out."

ITV.COM The Stokes – Is This It?

Thursday | 07.08.03

Emmerdale schemer Steph Stokes is playing the dutiful daughter tonight.

The cocky Cockney has realised that her own hope of financial stability is if father Alan Turner makes her his main benefactor.

In the light of this revelation, Steph decides she has to put on a charm offensive to convince her fed-up father that she deserves his cash.

However, despite having suffered a health scare, Alan is not that naive and when Steph suggests he should put his will in order just in case the worst happens, he reacts pragmatically.

The ailing B&B owner knows that his relationship with Steph has been patchy at best and is smart enough to realise giving her his life savings will only lead to more trouble.

So, although he heeds her advice, Alan's new will names Steph's daughter Tricia and her husband Marlon Dingle as his beneficiaries.

When Steph discovers this she flies into a rage, but can she persuade her doubting dad that she deserves the loot?

ITV.COM

Steph's Evolution

Thursday | 11.09.03

Emmerdale troublemaker Steph Stokes has undergone a radical personality overhaul.

Ever since the revelation that dad Alan Turner left her out of his will, Steph has been trying to reform her image.

The prime motivation of her plan is to convince her ailing dad that she is responsible adult that he wants her to be and not an overgrown kid who thinks the world owes her favours.

And by taking a job at Alan Turner's factory, Steph hoped to prove that her attitude had improved and that she could hold down a job.

But the one time bad girl is having trouble retraining her wayward tenancies. After using her feminine wiles to charm the socks off boss Eric Pollard, Steph decides to treat her fellow workers to a cruel but hilarious impression of their unsuspecting employer.

But will her satire come back to haunt her as she struggles to make her new persona believable?

ITV.COM The Stokes - Is This It?

Thursday | 15.01.04

Emmerdale's Steph Stokes is going through hell after losing Tricia.

The bereaved mother is struggling to get on with life as she faces the prospect of never seeing her beautiful daughter again.

Thanks to her own selfishness, Steph and Tricia never had the strong mother and daughter bond shared by many other families. But after Steph decided to follow her offspring to the Dales, they formed a good friendship.

But Tricia's horrific death after suffering the full force of the New Year's Eve storm, has robbed poor Steph of the one person she really loved and she is finding the loss hard to bear.

However, everyone is far more focused on the anguish of Tricia's heartbroken husband Marlon, who has fallen to pieces in the wake of the tragedy. And since funeral arrangements are being taken care of by him, Steph feels she has no say in her daughter's farewell.

This week she is horrified when Marlon invites Tricia's boss Diane Blackstock to talk at her funeral and wonders if anyone has given her a second thought.

Will Tricia's nearest and dearest realise the suffering poor Steph is going through?

The Sun 1st February 2004

Emmer so naughty

Kissed off ... shocked Steph walks in and catches her best pal Shelly snogging her dad Alan in Emmerdale


EMMERDALE is set to sizzle when Steph comes home to find her dad in a steamy clinch with her BEST FRIEND.

Shocked Steph is left fuming when dad Alan Turner admits his feelings for her pal Shelly.

The pair became good friends since the tragic death of Steph’s daughter Tricia in the great New Year storm.

But fans will be stunned when they watch that friendship turn to LUST.

It all sparks off when Alan (Richard Thorp) admits that if he was a few years younger he would take out Shelly (Carolyn Pickles).

But she stuns him when she takes his hand and starts kissing him.

Bad girl Steph (Lorraine Chase) is furious and lays into her friend, accusing her of being a “gold-digger”.

Yesterday an Emmerdale insider revealed: “Shelly has become a rock for Alan since Tricia’s death.

“They are friends — but very soon it becomes more than that.

“Steph is horrified when she sees what is going on. She shows her true colours.”

The explosive episode will be on ITV1 on Tuesday February 10 at 7pm.

ITV.COM New Romance Tuesday | 10.02.04

Emmerdale's Alan Turner finds himself drawn to a close pal.

The lonely B&B owner has endured a horrendous few months after losing granddaughter Tricia in an accident during the Christmas holidays.

Although the tragedy has bought him much closer to wayward daughter Steph, he would not have coped with the tragedy without the support of his daughter's pal Shelley.

Shelley - who has always played second fiddle to extrovert Steph - has always remained in the background during dramas in the Dales. But her kindly nature and strong support have been a source of comfort to devastated Alan.

So when he thanks her for all she's done for his grieving family and says he would love to go out with her, if he was younger, Shelley is delighted.

She has been harbouring romantic feelings for him for some time and the pair soon find themselves in a passionate embrace.

But as they are smooching, Steph bursts in and witnesses their new found relationship.

How will she react to the burgeoning love affair?

ITV.COM Steph Stages A Lock-in

Wednesday | 30.06.04

Emmerdale's Steph Stokes takes a drastic revenge on pal Shelly.

Scheming Steph is horrified to hear Shelly is planning to immigrate to Spain with her father Alan - and resolves to stop them.

Since Steph has always been fiercely opposed to Shelly's relationship with her father, her reaction isn't entirely unexpected. However, the lengths she will go to in order to wreck Shelly's dreams become more frightening as the saga draws on.

After screaming blue murder, Steph decides to change tack and is soon giving Shelly the impression she has come round to the idea.

But when the two women are alone again, Shelly discovers her optimism is premature - as Steph locks her in a cupboard!

Although the pair have always had a strange friendship, with Shelly allowing Steph to have all the power, Shelly never expected such an extreme reaction.

But Steph is adamant she will not allow the emigration to go ahead – and Shelly is forced to concede defeat to secure her release.

Has Steph succeeded in splitting the happy couple up?

Extract from Daily Mirror: STEPH'S SHELL-SHOCKED! Jul 9 2004

This soap is so sharp that they'll soon need to pass out plasters to stop the cast from bleeding.

And as Fat Shell and her so-called best friend Steph clash, the St John's Ambulance Brigade should be on red alert. For the cockney sparrow is far from chirpy when she discovers that her pal is having the B&B valued so that she and Steph's dear old dad Tubby Turner can sell up and start a new life in Spain - without her.

Having turned into such a fruit and nutcase that Cadbury's chocolate probably have grounds for legal action under the Trades Description Act, bully girl Steph is in for a shock. With Fat Shell so terrified she'll be locked in a cupboard again, she lets fly with such a cracking right hander that the sound of the old bat's dentures rattling can be heard in Leeds.

Extract from Daily Mirror's Weekly Guide to Soaps: TUBBY TAKES A TUMBLE Sep 4 2004

By Tony Stewart

Who needs enemies when you’ve got a cruel daughter like Psycho Steph determined to make your life a living hell?

She has driven away the love of Tubby Turner’s life, Shelly. Weasled as much cash out of the old codger as possible. And failed to offer him any comfort at all following her daughter Trish’s death at the New Year. But even this is extreme behaviour for the old cockney bunny boiler.

With a depressed Tubby wallowing in a vat of alcohol over his losses, she can’t resist confronting him – ominously enough, at the top of the stairs in the B&B.

‘My only regret,’ he scowls, ‘is that when I eventually sober up, you’ll still be a nagging disappointment of a daughter… Yes, I miss Shelly and Tricia… I wish you’d died instead of her.’

In the time-honoured tradition of this soap – remember the downfalls of Len and Ray? – that remark earns Tubby a slap and a tumble down the stairs. And it’s a story that will take on a macabre and sinister twist as Steph takes flight, leaving him for dead.

ITV.COM Families At War

Tuesday | 07.09.04

Emmerdale's Alan Turner gets on the wrong side of Steph.

The heartbroken B&B boss is trying to forget about lost love Shelley by drowning his sorrows with the Dingle family.

Alan has been a lost soul ever since he returned from a fruitless search for his beloved belle. And he puts the blame for her disappearance at the door of manipulative daughter Steph, who drove her away. So now Steph is desperate to build bridges, her furious father doesn't want to know.

However, Steph thinks she's making progress when she gets Alan to agree to join her for dinner this week.

But her illusions are soon shattered when she waits for hours in the Woolpack, dressed up to the nines, only to discover Alan is far too busy on a boozy fishing trip to give her a thought.

Humiliated and embarrassed, Steph returns home to wait for Alan to return.

How will Alan explain why he stood his unhinged offspring up?

Wednesday | 08.09.04

Emmerdale's Alan Turner clashes with dangerous daughter Steph Stokes.
The heartbroken B&B owner stood Steph up while he partied with the Dingles, and now she wants some answers.

Ever since his girlfriend Shelly fled the village, Steph has tried to get closer to her father. But Alan isn't interested in mending bridges with his meddling offspring and continues to push her away.

Having already endured the humiliation of being stood up by her own dad, Steph is absolutely livid and heads to the B&B to have it out with Alan.

But he's off enjoying the Dingle hospitality once again - exasperating Steph even further.

So when he returns home drunk from the drinking session to find Steph waiting for him, Alan is drawn into a furious argument - which quickly escalates into a shocking showdown.

During the row, Alan tells devastated Steph he wishes she had died instead of her bubbly daughter Tricia - provoking a furious reaction.

But as Steph hits him, Alan stumbles and falls down the stairs. Has scheming Steph finally pushed her papa too far?

ITV.COM The Great Escape

Wednesday | 29th Sept

Emmerdale's Shelly Williams tries to escape psycho Steph's clutches.
The terrified woman is languishing in the cellar below ex-lover Alan Turner's B&B, after Steph pushed her down the stairs.

Although Shelly knew Steph would do everything in her power to prevent her speaking with ailing Alan, she is horrified by her former friend's dangerous behaviour.

So when Steph comes down to talk to her, scared Shelly tries to reason with her - promising never to return to the village again.

But Steph knows she's gone too far and that Shelly will report her to the police. And Shelly's future looks grim.

However, while Steph is upstairs tending to her clueless father, Shelly manages to break free of her shackles and hides in the darkness, hoping to escape.

While she hides in the gloom, a very-confused Turner tells Steph he's sure he heard Shelly's voice downstairs.

But as Steph laughs off his suspicions as nightmares, Shelly is poised to flee the house of horror.

Will she be able to get help before Steph becomes even more unhinged?

ITV.COM Tues, 7pm | Nov 9th 2004


Daz unwittingly breaks in upon a disturbing secret.

The tearaway teen has been bunking-off school to break into houses in the village while their occupants are out.

However, Daz realised his little game was getting very serious when he broke into the B&B to discover something very amiss.

Alan has been locked in his room by dangerous daughter Steph, and no one believes she's plotting to slowly poison him and take his money.

But all that is about to change after Daz returns to the B&B to try and discover what is behind the strange noises he heard.

When Daz catches sight of ailing Alan he is totally shocked by how ill the vulnerable veteran is.

And when Alan starts to ramble on about what's happening to him, Daz realises Steph is not all that she seems.

But before he can do anything, Daz spots Steph making her way home and has to make a run for it, leaving Alan alone again.

However, now Daz knows something is up at the B&B how long will it be before Steph's secret is out?

Staring into the abyss

Fri, 7.00pm | Nov 11th 2004


Steph loses control on her desperate situation.

For the past few months she’s kept her father Alan doped up on tranquillizers, allowing her to drain his bank account and sell off his property.

However, now young Daz knows the truth behind her evil schemes, Steph realises time has run out for her and flees in her car - taking ailing Alan with her.

Realising the gravity of the situation, Paddy and Emily give chase, following the marauding Steph along narrow country lanes.

When she finally shakes them off, Steph begins to explain her actions to Alan in an emotional showdown. Revealing how much she resents him for making her childhood a misery, Steph lays into Alan and makes a terrible decision.

Driving to a nearby quarry, Steph contemplates her options and decides there is only one way to put an end to her miserable situation.

But as her and Alan teeter on the edge of the vast quarry, Paddy and Emily spot them.

Can they get to the deranged daughter before she finishes both herself and her father off?

ITV.COM Shell Shocked

Tues, 7.00pm | Nov 16th 2004


Emmerdale's Alan Turner fears daughter Steph has committed murder already!
The vulnerable veteran is now recovering in hospital after Steph nearly ended both their lives by driving off a quarry edge.

While Alan is relieved he didn't become a victim of Steph's psychosis, he is worried that she may have harmed his missing girlfriend Shelly Williams.

When Shelly first left him it was because Steph had accused her of being a golddigger. But she did return to the village after hearing Alan was ill.

As viewers know, Steph greeted Shelly's return coldly and was determined to ensure the worried woman never bothered them again.

Although Alan heard the altercation between the two women at the time, Steph dismissed his worries as a hallucination.

Desperate to get to the bottom of what's happened, Alan begs Emily to report their worries to the police. But when the detective arrives to see them, he's forced to admit Steph has been released without charge! Is there any evidence proving Steph did away with Shelly?

After being forced to release Steph Stokes without charge, the officers are determined to find evidence that links her to Shelly's disappearance.

And with Alan's permission to search the premises from top to bottom, the forensic teams start trying to uncover the truth.

While they get to work, Steph is outside bewildered by what's happening. The police haven't told her they suspect her to have harmed Shelly, so she remains blissfully ignorant of the accusations against her.

But her peace may be fairly short-lived as the officers discover blood on the handrail of the stairs in the cellar, and evidence of a scuffle below.

However, in order to arrest Steph for murder the team know they must find one vital piece of evidence - Shelly's body.

Can Steph really be capable of murder?

Steph's Sent Down!

Mon, 22nd | Nov 22nd 2005

Emmerdale's Steph Stokes is charged with the murder of Shelly Williams.

The conniving Cockney was the last person to see Shelly alive after she returned to Emmerdale to visit ailing Alan Turner.

As viewers know, Steph and Shelly had a violent showdown in the B&B cellar, which ended in misery for Alan's longsuffering love.

Despite a mountain of evidence against her, Steph is mystified when the police arrest her on suspicion of Shelly's murder and insists she's innocent.

But while Steph frantically tries to clear her name, even those close to her doubt she's innocent. In fact, her own solicitor is so troubled by what the police have against her that he withdraws from the case.

With no friends, family or lawyers willing to stand up for her, Steph is completely isolated. And when the police realise even her own legal team think she's guilty they decide to charge her then and there.

However, with no body found, have the police jumped to the wrong conclusion about Steph?

ITV.COM Alan's Appeal

Fri, 7.00pm | Jan 14th 2005

Emmerdale's Alan Turner makes a desperate plea to lost love Shelly Williams.

The heartbroken local goes on This Morning to discuss Shelly's disappearance with presenters Philip Scofield and Fern Britton, hoping against hope that she may still be alive.

Although Alan is 90 per cent sure his belle has died in horrific circumstances, he's unable to give up all hope until a body is found. And, after visiting daughter Steph in jail, he's not so sure that she is responsible for the suspected murder.

So, after initially turning down the chance to go on the show, Alan begins to think it could be his best chance at solving the mystery of Shelly's whereabouts.

Kindly Fern and Phil gently question their guest on what its like to lose somebody in such tragic circumstances, and Alan conveys his feelings of grief, despair and anger.

After the show, Alan is inundated with phone calls from people wanting the inside scoop on the story.

But what he really wants is to hear Shelly's voice on the end of the line.

Will Alan's prayers be answered?

Thursday | Jan 27th 2005 (the events described below took place 1st Febraury 2005)


No, it’s not one of those returned from the graves storylines.

Instead it’s the return of Shelly Williams to Turner’s arms after running away from evil Steph Stokes.

After being tortured and threatened, bound and gagged by Steph in the cellar, the crazed woman takes Shelly to the moors to dump her.

At first we are led to believe that Steph has killed her father’s love, especially as she admits as such to Ethan.

But after a series of anonymous phone calls Turner receives at Betty’s we start to wonder whether Ethan’s suggestion that Shelly is at the other end of the phone could be true.

Turner initially believes him, but as time goes by and there’s still no news of Shelly, he decides to hold a memorial service for her to pay his respects.

But it’s while he’s sitting after the ceremony talking to himself that the lady in question makes an appearance!

“She sees Alan being interviewed on ‘This Morning’ declaring his belief that Shelly might be out there," says Carolyn Pickles, who plays Shelly. "She’s overwhelmed by how unhappy Alan is.

“She feels ashamed and terribly guilty about not declaring herself alive, but too frightened to come forward.”

Now that she is alive, Turner convinces her to go to the police, but Shelly would rather Steph lay locked up in prison for the rest of her life.

It’s only a matter of time that the two former best friends meet again… will there be forgiveness?

ITV.COM Steph and Shelly’s face-off!

Weds | Feb 9th 2005

With Steph banged up in prison, Shelly felt safe in the arms of Turner after weeks of torment and torture at the hands of her former best friend.

But after Turner persuaded her to drop the charges on his daughter, it was only a matter of time before the two would clock eyes on each other.

Shelly has been keeping herself in Betty’s house ever since Steph returned to the village, but on seeing her school mate out on a walk she is overcome with an urge to face her enemy once and for all.

After her ordeal, Shelly has emerged a stronger person, but how will she cope when she is just centimetres away from the woman that nearly killed her just several weeks before?

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