Caleb Miligan (William Ash) and Ruby (Beth Cordingly) think things are getting back on track with Steph (Georgia Jay) in Emmerdale after she seemingly turns a corner. How wrong they are.
What they don’t realise is that behind their backs, she has made plans to have her face re-arranged to rid herself of traces of Anthony (Nicholas Day).
The weight of knowing who her real dad is has been a heavy burden for Steph, who confessed to Aaron that all she can see when she looks in the mirror is her mother’s abuser staring back at her.
In a pit of anguish, she went to Anthony’s grave to dig up his body but instead learned John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth) had lied about where he’d buried him. And worse, he won’t confess where he really is.
She spirals further and decides the best thing to do is surgery, and once she makes that decision, she feels utter relief. No one has any clue she is planning such a drastic measure, in fact her new positive attitude reassures Caleb and Ruby things are getting better.
Can Caleb and Ruby help?
But when Steph says she’s suddenly off on holiday – a cover for recovery – Caleb gets suspicious and attempts to look up her flight number on her laptop. Instead of flight details, he finds out about her planned elective surgery.
Terrified of what his daughter is about to do, Caleb tracks down the surgeon and bursts into the hospital as the surgeon makes his final preparations for Steph.
With Caleb having intercepted her surgery, Steph hits full self-destruct mode. Once home, she smashes up the kitchen.
Ross Barton (Mike Parr) finds out what’s been going on and he’s immediately by her side. But Steph is one crack away from shattering completely, and when Ross makes one comment, he completely breaks her.
She loses her temper and unleashes a hail of verbal abuse on him. He tolerates it until she runs out of steam, but she’s then left with guilt and self-loathing that she can’t take it back.
Trapped in her spiral of self-hatred, she grabs a bottle of vodka and runs. Things are getting far worse before than they can get any better. Can Ross find her before it’s too late?
