Maya Stepney

"It's not silly at all. You are a lovely, sensitive, mature young man, and I am very, very flattered that you feel like that. But this can't happen, I'm your dad's girlfriend."

- Maya to Jacob Maya Stepney is a fictional character and reoccurring antagonist of the British soap opera Emmerdale.

She first appeared in March 2018 as a neutral character, and began a relationship with David Metcalfe that June. However, she soon started grooming David's fifteen-year-old former step-son, Jacob Gallagher. Maya is also the history teacher at Hotten Academy.

She is portrayed by Louisa Clein.

PERSONALITY
Despite appearing to be kind and caring to most villagers in Emmerdale, Maya can be very controlling and manipulative at times. She has lashed out at David numerous times, only to "apologise" soon afterwards. She has also used sympathy to try and get Jacob to not tell anyone about their relationship.

HISTORY
Maya and David began meeting again in June 2018, and Maya confided in David that she and Liam were having marital problems. She and David bonded over their marital problems, and began an affair. However, Liam found out and nearly punched David. Tracy also discovered the pair together and told David that she no longer wanted a reconciliation. Despite this, David and Maya struck up an affair. However, not long after. David told his father Eric Pollard that his relationship with Maya was a mistake. Maya found out that Tracy had terminated his child without his knowledge, and comforted David, leading to a vulnerable David to sleep with Maya again.

When student Noah Dingle was forced out of his home by Kim Tate, Maya felt sympathetic towards Noah and gave him an opportunity to talk to someone. Maya helped Noah whilst his mother was busy at her granddaughter's bedside, doing things such as helping Noah home. Maya's employer Jessie Grant was concerned with the way Maya and Noah's relationship would look and, despite David's step-son Jacob Gallagher and David defending her, Maya was instructed to see Jessie in her office after school the next day.

Recently, Maya has been grooming Jacob Gallagher, while keeping the whole thing secret from David.

VILLAINOUS ACTS

 * Paedophile - In a relationship with a 15 year old boy
 * Two-timing - In a relationship with said 15 year old boy while being in a relationship with someone else