filmed the aftermath of Max's death, Stenson listened to depressing music to reach her character's bereaved mindset. Stenson believed it was a mistake to kill Max off, and "such an awful thing to happen to Steph", until she received "amazing feedback" about the storyline. In the aftermath, Tom asked Steph to be his mother, in a scene that then-executive producer Bryan Kirkwood deemed his favourite of the year. The interaction between the two was intended to represent "what Hollyoaks is all about - lots of heart, relationships, friendships, love and loss." Kirkwood praised Stenson's performance throughout the storyline, particularly during that scene. Steph has a brief fling with Niall Rafferty (Barry Sloane). The actors were required to film "steamy scenes". Stenson felt it a "hard challenge" to portray, she had to convince the audience that Steph would genuinely get together with her husband's killer. Some viewers, including all the staff of Inside Soap believed their chemistry to be greater. Stenson ultimately decided Steph was "better suited" to Max. She hoped that Steph would have even "more drama around the corner" along with "a bit of comic relief". Illnesses Epilepsy In a storyline which Stenson found challenging to portray, Steph was diagnosed with epilepsy. Feeling a responsibility to members of the viewing public who have the disorder, the actress researched it extensively, assisted by Mersey Television. As well as reading about it, she visited several organisations, and spent a day on set with a teenage girl—close in age to Steph—who has the condition, and who shared insights on the experiences she had been through. The actress felt trepidation about acting out seizures, but for her first one was assisted by the episode's director, who had witnessed seizures first-hand, having once worked in a hospital. Stenson felt privileged to be chosen for the storyline, particularly as epilepsy is typically a taboo subject which had not featured prominently in a soap opera before. Barbara Pinder of Epilepsy Action praised the serial for taking on the subject matter. Hollyoaks researchers contacted the charity when developing the storyline, and Pinder felt that the show succeeded in communicating the impact of Steph's diagnosis. She stated, "It is great to see a soap opera, specially one that is watched mainly by young people, look at the issue of epilepsy as it often gets ignored." Stenson was pleased the storyline was "reaching out to people", and stated that