Hollyoaks star Stephanie Waring was just like all of us when she found out that Cindy Cunningham was Imran Maalik’s (Ijaz Rana) mystery ex, revealing that her jaw ‘dropped to the floor’ upon learning the news.
Imran, as viewers know, fell head over heels in love with someone prior to his romance with Leah Barnes (Charlotte Alex Riley) and fans spent weeks trying to work out who it was.
The identity of this former lover was revealed on Wednesday (October 14) as Imran made contact with the woman of his dreams after an incident involving Lucas Hay (Oscar Curtis) – and there were no doubt gasps aplenty across the nation when it was Cindy that turned up.
And like with all good soapy twists, it wasn’t just the fans that were left reeling as stars Steph and Ijaz were similarly speechless when they were told what was coming.
‘I found out about Imran and Cindy about three weeks, maybe sooner, after coming back,’ Cindy legend Stephanie Waring – who staged a historic Hollyoaks return earlier in the year – told Metro.
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‘I knew there was going to be something else I was going to be involved in that was massive apart from the Maddox storyline. When the producers called me to the office to tell me, they were super excited about it, my jaw dropped to the floor.
‘I was like “what?!”. Then they brought us in together and explained the storyline properly because originally it was just that Cindy had a relationship with Imran in LA. We didn’t know about the standalone episode at that point.
‘It was when we got told the reason behind our relationship was in a joint meeting together. So I had known for a while. When I’ve been doing interviews and people asked me what was to come, the only thing I could say is that there were more secrets.
‘There was going to be something big happening and I couldn’t say anything. What’s great is we kept this under wraps and it’s been revealed onscreen rather than a teaser beforehand where everyone knows what storyline is coming and are just waiting to watch it. It unfolds in real time.’
Ijaz, who returned to screens as Imran just months ago, admitted that he too was ‘surprised’ by the identity of his alter-ego’s ex flame.
‘When I was here the first time with Ollie [Morgan], we did have scenes together with Cindy,’ he recalled to us. ‘Imran’s always had a crush on Cindy but never did I think they could take a it a step further.
‘It seemed out of the realm of reality. But when I heard about it and then you hear the justification and the reason or why it happens, it kind of makes sense. I was really excited. It’s such a different storyline for Imran as well.’
As for what the future holds, fans will just have to keep tuning in to find out but star Steph is confident that Cindy’s feelings for Imran are genuine, revealing that this is ultimately why she decided to ‘let him go’.
‘She just wanted what was right for him and wasn’t going to use him and do what she usually does – chew men and spit them out or gold digging,’ she explained, branding their connection ‘genuine’.
Ijaz, meanwhile, said that – between Leah and Cindy – Imran would ultimately choose to be with Cindy. ‘ The reason is that the whole thing with Leah was more thought about,’ he said. ‘This conversation with Cindy is her saying: “This isn’t going to work because of all the reasons. But you should try it with Leah, because you have a connection with her”. Because then the relationship with Leah is more thought about, it becomes less instinctive almost.
‘It’s more planned, whereas with Cindy, it kind of just happens. That’s true love at first sight. He’s always had a crush on her, whereas with Leah and Imran existed in the village together there was never anything happening or seeds planted. Seeds were planted with Cindy and Imran early on.’
Fans will have the opportunity to see the love story unfold in real life when Hollyoaks journeys back in time and takes us to LA for a special episode on Monday (October 19), which will fill in the blanks regarding Imran and Cindy’s relationship.
‘I was so excited!,’ said Steph, revealing her reaction to the episode in question. ‘Especially being given the gift of carrying an episode with Ijaz. Just the two of us. Also for it to be set in LA. Hollyoaks haven’t done anything like that before. Unfortunately for us, we had to film in the canteen! [laughs].
‘It’s been really exciting. When I read the episode, I was even more excited just to get started. It’s been one of the best shoots that I’ve done.’
Hollyoaks streams Mondays to Wednesdays from 6am on Channel 4’s streaming platform, or catch episodes on TV at 7pm on E4.
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