'Hollyoaks' legend hints at appearances on 'Strictly' and 'I'm A Celebrity' after axe from Channel 4 soap

Stephanie Waring has told fans that she’d like to appear on two popular reality TV shows, just days after she announced her axe from Channel 4 soap ‘Hollyoaks’.

Waring announced in an emotional post on Instagram on April 9 that she has been axed from Hollyoaks after 28 years playing Cindy Cunningham. Her revealation came weeks after the production company Lime Pictures announced that Hollyoaks would be cut down to just three episodes a week and there would be 135 job losses as a result. The 46-year-old actress is the latest star to leave ‘Hollyoaks’ in the coming weeks. The actress has now been contemplating what she will do with her free time once she has left the soap, and has revealed that she’d love to give ‘I’m a Celebrity . . . Get Me Out of Here!” or “Strictly Come Dancing” a go. She told ‘The Sun’: "I haven’t ever been available to do shows like I’m a Celebrity and Strictly because I’ve always been too busy around the time of them being on.”

While she would be happy to show off her dance moves on the ‘Strictly’ dance floor it seems Waring, who playing the lead in the Australian television drama series ‘Crash Palace’ in 2001 would much prefer to go in to the ‘I’m a Celebrity’ jungle. She added: "But it’s something I’m open to now. I’d love to do the jungle - anything that gets me back to Australia! It’s a challenge as well and I do love the show."

Waring wouldn't be the first and only ‘Hollyoaks’ star to head down under as her co-star Tony Hutchinson actor Nick Pickard was part of the ‘I'm A Celebrity’ line-up last year, setting camp in the jungle in November 2023. Meanwhile, ‘Strictly’ has also welcomed former ‘Hollyoaks’ stars Ashley Taylor Dawson and Danny Mac, in 2013 and 2016 respectfully.

Speaking to ‘The Sun’ about her ‘Hollyoaks’ exit storyline, Waring said she was "very distraught" by the news that her character was to be cut and begged bosses to reconsider. She said: "In the meeting they read from a script and a tear fell from my eye because I could just feel it in the room. "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. She added: "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!’"

It is not yet known how Waring's character will be written out of the show but as she has been assured she won't be killed off, this may not be the last we see of Cindy Cunningham.

In her Instagram post, Waring wrote: “I will relish every last scene I have left to play with the gift of a role that is Cindy Cunningham. I don’t know how or why she exits yet but I have been assured I’m not being killed off, which I’m thankful for as in soap land anything can happen so I’d like to think we’ll see her again but who knows. On a personal note, whilst I currently can’t imagine a life away from my Hollyoaks family or being Cindy, who will always remain a part of me, I know that on my last day I’ll walk out with my head held high, even if my mascara is still running! Love Steph.”

‘Hollyoaks’ has apparently been thrown into chaos behind the scenes as cast members have slammed the decision to axe Waring after almost three decades on the show. According to ‘The Sun’ an insider said: “A lot of the cast are furious because Steph is so upset about it. It’s no way for her to be treated after 28 years on the soap. If it can happen to her, it can happen to anyone. There are a lot of worried people right now.”