Steph Scully (Carla Bonner)

[sagittarius10]

Deadly accident
A dramatic car crash leaves a trapped Paul at Steph's mercy.

They say revenge is a dish best served cold. Well, Steph Scully is about to serve up hers and then some!

Steph (Carla Bonner) has endured a bumpy return to Erinsborough in Neighbours.

It gets even worse when it's revealed Paul (Stefan Dennis) has been messing with her mind. He wants to make her think she's suffered a relapse of her mental health issues!

In a dramatic twist, the pair are left fighting for their lives when they're involved in a car accident this week.

It's at this point Steph realises she isn't going crazy and that Paul has been setting her up!

The action-packed storyline begins with Steph being fired from her job at the garage. She's devastated.

"Steph gets sacked, which means she loses her day release," Carla, 42, tells TV Week.

"She has to go back to the hospital. The was her chance and it's blown."

When Steph leans on her oldest friend, Toadie (Ryan Moloney), for support, he admits he's worried about her mental health. Steph confesses she, too, is terrified of falling back down the dark hole.

Paul, meanwhile, is elated Steph has been given her marching orders. She'll quit Erinsborough - and leave him alone - for good.

He couldn't be more wrong!

It seems his daughter, Amy (Zoe Cramond), is doing anything she can to find Steph a new job.

"Amy is being an amazing support to her," Carla says.

Panicked, Paul decides to stop messing around and take matters into his own hands. He offers Steph a job at The Waterhole.

"Steph is taken aback by his offer," Carla says. "She can rationalise and believe he's doing it for Amy and that he has some sort of compassionate moment. So, she jumps at it."

Steph is playing right into Paul's hands. He knows he'll be able to finish off the job without a hitch.

When Steph's back it turned, he switches her mental health medication for psychotropic drugs!

Paul smiles and sits back to await her inevitable breakdown.

"She starts to feel a bit dizzy, a bit strange," Carla says.

"Then, she goes to the bathroom and starts talking to herself in the mirror but her image talks back. It's like 'Whoa!"

As Steph begins to melt down, Paul jumps in to "save the day" and offers to drive her to Bendigo to see her doctor.

"Steph is actually tripping off her face and is terrified," Carla explains.

As Paul drives them out of town, Steph gets a message on her phone. It alerts her to the truth about what Paul's just done.

Before she can quiz him about it, a car veers into their path and they career off the road and crash.

When Paul regains consciousness, he discovers Steph has found the pills in his pocket. He realises he's in big trouble...

"Paul is pinned by a branch," Carla explains. "All sorts of things are running through her head about how she can dispose of him.

"She knows what he's just done to her and how he's jeopardised everything. She wants to kill him."

Stuck in the wreckage of their car, it appears time - and karma - has finally caught up with Paul.

Steph, angry and still high, isn't thinking straight and is out for blood.

Is she about to do th unthinkable and kill off one of Neighbours most devious characters?

Source: TV Week 9th November 2015

[LauBuch]

I'm watching at UK pace but know I'm not going to like watching this. Really hate that Paul does this.

It's really uncomfortable. I have experience with mental illness (not quite to the extent the show has done) and it's awful. I mean, I actually like how they've dealt with it in the sense that, people were quite rightly skeptical about her coming back, but she's proven she's made big leaps since then.
I hate the fact Paul is doing this, I mean what's the motive? Everyone else is welcoming her or are at least working towards that, even for Paul it's low. I really hope Steph reports his actions, especially since he slips her psychotic drugs.

[LauBuch]

It's really uncomfortable. I have experience with mental illness (not quite to the extent the show has done) and it's awful. I mean, I actually like how they've dealt with it in the sense that, people were quite rightly skeptical about her coming back, but she's proven she's made big leaps since then and she really wasn't well at the time. If it helps end the stigma that surrounds mental illness, it's great, especially people accepting it is actually an illness and not something that can just be switched off.
I hate the fact Paul is doing this, I mean what's the motive? Everyone else is welcoming her or are at least working towards that, even for Paul it's low. I really hope Steph reports his actions, especially since he slips her psychotic drugs.

[LauBuch]

It's really uncomfortable. I have experience with mental illness (not quite to the extent the show has done) and it's awful. I mean, I actually like how they've dealt with it in the sense that, people were quite rightly skeptical about her coming back, but she's proven she's made big leaps since then.
I hate the fact Paul is doing this, I mean what's the motive? Everyone else is welcoming her or are at least working towards that, even for Paul it's low. I really hope Steph reports his actions, especially since he slips her psychotic drugs.

Whoops! Meant to edit my post, not reply to it

[LauBuch]

Anyone else keep getting really creeped out by Belinda?

[Sparklydee]

Anyone else keep getting really creeped out by Belinda?

She is SO creepy and obsessive, it's actually uncomfortable to watch. If you had to guess which one had a mental illness, I'm not sure I'd choose Steph at this point.

[LauBuch]

She is SO creepy and obsessive, it's actually uncomfortable to watch. If you had to guess which one had a mental illness, I'm not sure I'd choose Steph at this point.

That's what I was thinking! Maybe she previously had a mental illness and chose to go into that career after recovering?
Either that or she has some serious control issues! With Belinda's clinginess and Paul tampering with Steph's mental state and meds, it's really uncomfortable viewing.
Poor Steph needs (and deserves) a break! I wonder if she'll get an apology from Sonya etc for all the hassle that I can imagine will come from this. Maybe even Vanessa should apologise when she finds out? I know what Steph done with Paddy was wrong on so many levels, but no one seems to understand (minus Toadie and Amy) that she mentally wasn't Steph, she was a different person. I thought Vanessa was a little harsh, but then again, on some level I get it.
I think Sonya definitely needs to apologise though, she is swinging back and forth on whether to trust Steph.
You'd think, Sonya of all people, would be understanding of letting someone have a second chance.

[Sparklydee]

That's what I was thinking! Maybe she previously had a mental illness and chose to go into that career after recovering?
Either that or she has some serious control issues! With Belinda's clinginess and Paul tampering with Steph's mental state and meds, it's really uncomfortable viewing.
Poor Steph needs (and deserves) a break! I wonder if she'll get an apology from Sonya etc for all the hassle that I can imagine will come from this. Maybe even Vanessa should apologise when she finds out? I know what Steph done with Paddy was wrong on so many levels, but no one seems to understand (minus Toadie and Amy) that she mentally wasn't Steph, she was a different person. I thought Vanessa was a little harsh, but then again, on some level I get it.
I think Sonya definitely needs to apologise though, she is swinging back and forth on whether to trust Steph.
You'd think, Sonya of all people, would be understanding of letting someone have a second chance.

Yes! I'm glad you said that about Vanessa. On the one hand, of course Vanessa went through an awful experience when her child was taken, but she isn't displaying any understanding of the fact that it was Steph's mental illness that took over, she honestly thought Paddy was Adam-she didn't do it out of malice or spite and Vanessa doesn't seem to understand that. Not many people do except Toadie and Amy I think. People are wary of small children being around her, which isn't helping her. I've a feeling Vaness is going to get Lucas to fire Steph from the garage. Hopefully she will apologise when she finds out about Paul. With Sonya, I think it's that she's threatened by the close bond between Toadie and Steph. I can't wait until all of this comes to a head-I really liked the original Steph back when she was mates with Dee, Lance, Toadie and Libby. I want that Steph back.

[LauBuch]

Yes! I'm glad you said that about Vanessa. On the one hand, of course Vanessa went through an awful experience when her child was taken, but she isn't displaying any understanding of the fact that it was Steph's mental illness that took over, she honestly thought Paddy was Adam-she didn't do it out of malice or spite and Vanessa doesn't seem to understand that. Not many people do except Toadie and Amy I think. People are wary of small children being around her, which isn't helping her. I've a feeling Vaness is going to get Lucas to fire Steph from the garage. Hopefully she will apologise when she finds out about Paul. With Sonya, I think it's that she's threatened by the close bond between Toadie and Steph. I can't wait until all of this comes to a head-I really liked the original Steph back when she was mates with Dee, Lance, Toadie and Libby. I want that Steph back.

I agree about her being fired and I hope they both return to offer Steph her job back when they learn the truth.
I can get why Sonya is nervous, but with her past and the mistakes she made (whether she slept round and such I don't know) I just wish she'd be a little more open to Steph being back, but hopefully that'll come with time.
And yes, I really want the old Steph back! She was always one of my favourite characters and when you see the old her coming out (like when they played wheelchair basketball) it's great!
I can't wait for this Paul and Steph storyline to be over (at least the part where Paul is in control). I just can't understand Paul's motives...
I doubt he gives two tosses about Lucas or Vanessa, Steph has proven over and over that she can be trusted around kids and Amy have made her feelings clear. I just don't get it.

Also, I HATED the fact they had Steph sleep with Dan. Steph and Libby's friendship was one of the best aspects of the show, a true bond. If Libby comes back, I hope they can get back to that.
They really ruined Steph's character as she came to the end of her contract and her brief return last time.

[Sparklydee]

I agree about her being fired and I hope they both return to offer Steph her job back when they learn the truth.
I can get why Sonya is nervous, but with her past and the mistakes she made (whether she slept round and such I don't know) I just wish she'd be a little more open to Steph being back, but hopefully that'll come with time.
And yes, I really want the old Steph back! She was always one of my favourite characters and when you see the old her coming out (like when they played wheelchair basketball) it's great!
I can't wait for this Paul and Steph storyline to be over (at least the part where Paul is in control). I just can't understand Paul's motives...
I doubt he gives two tosses about Lucas or Vanessa, Steph has proven over and over that she can be trusted around kids and Amy have made her feelings clear. I just don't get it.

Also, I HATED the fact they had Steph sleep with Dan. Steph and Libby's friendship was one of the best aspects of the show, a true bond. If Libby comes back, I hope they can get back to that.
They really ruined Steph's character as she came to the end of her contract and her brief return last time.

Yes the whole being in love with Drew thing was bad enough, then she had to go and sleep with Dan! I'd love to see Steph and Libby's friendship reprised. Paul puzzles me too-although someone said it was maybe because he was really close to Donna and therefore Ringo? I can't remember much about that. It seems weird that he would go to such extremes to drive her away-maybe there is something we don't know about yet, to do with his marriage to Lyn possibly?