STEPH Waring has revealed she’s qualified in a new career after “hours of work behind the scenes” following her shock Hollyoaks axing.
The 46-year-old starred as Cindy Cunningham on and off for 28 years until she was caught up in a brutal cull of 20 cast members earlier this year.
But actress Steph has been keeping busy and revealed to fans that she’s pursuing a new career as a life coach and recently qualified.
Posting a snap of her certificate on Instagram, Steph wrote: “Today I became a certified life coach!
“Behind the scenes I have been working hard, studying for hours, working with clients for my unsupervised hours required and it all came down to this.
“The final exam! I am so unbelievably proud of myself for seeing this through and discovering a passion beyond my wildest dreams.”
Speaking to The Sun after learning her Hollyoaks fate earlier this year, Steph revealed she broke down in tears and begged bosses to reconsider.
Discussing the meeting with show bosses, she said: “They got to the end and said ‘And with that, we will be losing Cindy from the show’. I just kept saying ‘I don’t understand’.
“I was very distraught, I didn’t take it well – I was probably the most dramatic person they told.
“I just kept telling them ‘I’m an original character’. I was clutching at anything – telling them ‘but I was the first person to give birth on the show!’
“I could see the distress I was causing them because they were upset that I was so upset.”
But, as well as working on a new career, Steph tied the knot with boyfriend Tom Brookes in July.
The couple eloped to the Maldives to say ‘I do’ and she later told OK! Magazine: “When we booked this holiday to the Maldives, Tom said: ‘Do you want to get married?’ and I just replied, ‘Yeah.'”
Tom added: “I was having a look online at where we were staying and I saw they did weddings.
“I’m quite an impromptu person in some senses, so it just felt right. We just jumped at this chance.”
