Stephanie Davis admits she "wasn't in a good place" when she "walked out" on 'Hollyoaks'.
Stephanie Davis
The 25-year-old star portrayed Sinead O'Connor on the Channel 4 soap from 2010 to 2015 and now admits she had a "serious drink problem" towards the end of her stint on the programme because she "thought alcohol was the solution" to her issues, which included the death of her nan and her granddad being ill.
She said: "Looking back I wasn't in a good place. I just walked out. My head kind of fell off.
"My granddad had cancer and was very poorly. I lost my beloved nan the year before and I wasn't coping very well.
"I thought in my head I need a break, but now I know i had a serious drink problem and all I wanted to do was block everything out. It was such a relief when someone sat me down and told me what was wrong.
"I'd been going to counselling, taking anti-depressants and nothing was working. The one thing that was doing me in was right in front of me. I thought alcohol was the solution."
But Stephanie - who has been sober for almost a year - is "really excited" about reprising her role as Sinead in the coming weeks, and has now set her sights on landing some big storylines and winning awards for her work.
She added to OK! magazine: "When I got myself sorted one day I was like, 'Shall I go back to 'Hollyoaks'?'
"I messaged the producer Bryan [Kirkwood], and he was already speaking to my agent and he was incredibly understanding and supportive. We met up for lunch and he asked me back.
"I'm a good actress - I just got a little it lost.
"I want the Best Actress award so some dramatic stuff. That would top everything off."
Bryan recently praised Stephanie's "remarkable courage and strength" after she went through a "really tough time".
He said: "I am Stephanie's biggest fan. I think she has shown remarkable courage and strength over the last year. She has been through a really tough time in the public eye, but she's now come out the other side.
"Stephanie turned her life around, is making better choices and is returning to what she does brilliantly - and that's being a fantastic actress."
After leaving 'Hollyoaks', Stephanie appeared in 'Celebrity Big Brother' in 2016, where she met Jeremy McConnell.
The pair later embarked on a relationship outside the house and had a kid together, Caben, who is now 21 months old, but they later split and she admitted herself to rehab for alcohol issues following the break up.
Jeremy was sentenced to 20 weeks in prison after assaulting Stephanie, but insisted in July that he is now a "different person" following a stint in rehab.
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