Stephen was paralysed when The Waterhole exploded due to a gas leak in the basement. During filming of the explosion, Daddo revealed that he was made up to look as if his forehead had caved in. Stephen lost all movement down one side of his body and was told that he would be confined to a wheelchair. Daddo told "Women's Own" writer Mary Fletcher that the storyline made him relive his own brother's accident, which left him wheelchair bound. Of Stephen's reaction to his condition, Daddo stated "When Stephen discovers he'll be in a wheelchair, he tries to spare Phoebe by ending it with her, saying he doesn't love her. But what he means is he loves her too much to burden her with a lifetime of looking after him."