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Guest Character Profiles > Steven Brook Mick Preston

When teenagers Steven and Barbara found out that they were expecting a baby, they realised that they weren't ready to be parents and gave up their son, Andrew, for adoption. They went on to marry and have a daughter, Gretchen, as well as another son. Years later, Barbara died and, soon after, Steven was diagnosed with lung cancer, with these two things leaving Gretchen very protective towards her father. When a woman then got in touch with Gretchen, explaining that she was Wendy Rodwell and that she believed her husband, Andrew, had been given up for adoption by the Brooks, Gretchen arranged to meet her. She confirmed to Wendy that Barbara and Steven were indeed Andrew's parents, telling her why they'd given him up for adoption and that Barbara had died. However, not wanting her dad to experience the stress of meeting his long-lost son, she lied that Steven was a drunk and hadn't been coping well with Barbara's death. Wendy then decided not to tell Andrew about her enquiries, feeling that he'd be happier if he didn't meet his biological family.

However, after Andrew found out what had happened, it caused division in the Rodwell marriage, and Wendy was forced to explain what she'd done to daughter, Sadie. As Sadie's best friend, Holly Hoyland, listened in, she wondered if Gretchen had been telling the truth, feeling that they shouldn't just take her word that Steven was a bad guy. She decided to do some investigating of her own, finding Steven Brook online and phoning him, claiming that she was a journalist. She found out that he was actually a decent person who, after leaving the navy, had done charity work and been on the council, as well as owning his own small business. She went to Andrew and told him what she'd found out, suggesting that he could just go to Sandy Point and meet him. With Wendy away overnight, Holly offered to accompany Andrew and they soon spotted Gretchen, with Holly recognising her from photos she'd seen online. Andrew then approached and was relieved when Steven was very happy to meet him, with the truth then coming out about Gretchen's reasons for lying about her dad. She explained how his diagnosis had been looking poor the previous week, but he'd had good news the day before, with his treatment now appearing to be working. Steven and Andrew quickly bonded and found that they had things in common, with Gretchen suggesting that they could all meet up again.

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