STEPHANIE Davis says she has quit Hollyoaks with a “heavy heart” to “be happy” – but admits it’s not what she wanted. The 27-year-old released a statement on Instagram underneath the quote: “Goals: To be happy” and turned off comments. She wrote: “Sometimes we make decisions based not on what we want but what we […]
STEPHANIE Davis says she has quit Hollyoaks with a “heavy heart” to “be happy” – but admits it’s not what she wanted.
The 27-year-old released a statement on Instagram underneath the quote: “Goals: To be happy” and turned off comments.
She wrote: “Sometimes we make decisions based not on what we want but what we know is right! I have loved bringing Sinead into your homes for the past ten years but it’s with a heavy heart I have decided to leave Hollyoaks and now looking forward to working on new and exciting projects.”
Steph is mum to three-year-old son Caben-Albi with her ex-boyfriend Jeremy McConnell.
Last year she bravely spoke out about how her depression battle led her to attempt suicide and left her in intensive care.
Steph played Sinead Shelby from 2010 to 2015, before returning to the role in 2018.
She is stepping down just a few days after her co-star Rachel Adedeji announced she was leaving Hollyoaks after four years – as the racism row surrounding the soap rages on.
The actress, who played Lisa Loveday in the Channel 4 soap, made the decision to leave the show last year and her exit was filmed shortly before lockdown.
Last week Rachel spoke out about a series of racist incidents that happened backstage on the show – and was backed up by other cast members.
Rachel accused Hollyoaks of being “performative and disingenuous” before listing the show’s shortcomings and said “systematic changes must be put into practice”.
Her comments have lead the show to launch an investigation, and now a number of Rachel’s co-stars have come out in support.
The soap has issued a statement saying: “Hollyoaks has zero tolerance on racism. We are taking Rachel Adedeji’s comments extremely seriously and are investigating.”
Soap bosses announced they are bringing in “unconscious bias trainers” as part of a plan to stamp out racism on the show.
Lime Pictures – which produces the soap for Channel 4 – released a statement saying: “Hollyoaks has been deeply shocked and saddened by issues that have been brought to our attention over the weekend.
“Lime Pictures strives to have zero tolerance of racism or any form of discrimination across all of its shows but it is clear we have further work to do.
“We must stamp out implicit bias which means calling out racism wherever and whenever we see it.
“We will continue to add to our action plan as we continue and broaden our dialogue with cast and staff.”
