She’s been a divisive figure ever since her Emmerdale debut last year, but Steph Miligan won fans over with an incredible performance from star Georgia Jay last night. In a day full of bombshells, Steph confronted her parents (again) to give them one last chance to come clean.

Finding a gun in Caleb’s safe, she was convinced they’d done something to the old man. And she was right – but not even close to how she thought. Steph was left shocked and appalled as her parents confirmed that Anthony was dead.

But that wasn’t all, as Caleb went to hand himself into the police, Ruby revealed how he’d sexually abused her as a teenager. Steph quickly put two and two together and realised that would make him her biological father.

Steph’s search for the truth is over, but her reckoning with what that means has only begun. And, amid Steph’s journey, came a powerful performance from Georgia Jay.

Emmerdale fans praise star Georgia Jay following ‘stunning’ performance as Steph

As last night’s episode aired, fans rushed to social media to pay tribute to Georgia Jay‘s performance.

“Stunning work from Beth Cordingly and Georgia Jay tonight. The realisation…” wrote one fan on X, tagging in her screen mother, Beth Cordingly.

“Rewatching yesterday’s episode and the moment the penny dropped for steph was one of the most heartbreaking moments I’ve seen on Emmerdale. Georgia Jay is a powerhouse,” said another.

“On a serious note – Beth and Georgia have smashed it tonight, but I need to take a moment to celebrate the fact Steph will hopefully never say GRANDAD again,” wrote a third.

“I’ve never been much of a Steph fan… but this was actually a good episode featuring her,” another agreed.

What’s next for Steph as she finds out the truth?

This is quite the reversal of fortunes for Steph, who fans have previously slammed for her ‘spoiled’ behaviour and oft-repeated ‘where art thou Granddad’ routine. But with the truth now aired, and viewers starting to warm to the character, what’s next for Steph?

Georgia has teased Steph’s future following last night’s episode, saying: “She feels betrayed, ashamed, angry and, at the same time, just in total despair for herself and her mother.

“She’s carrying the weight of her mother’s pain and trauma. It’s going to be a really rocky road for Steph in terms of this whole identity being shattered.”

She also added: “I see this as the making of a true family because it’s all been built on a foundation of lies. It’ll be a long road but I do think they’ll build a family that’s really, really strong and built on trust.”