Stephen Baker (Ian Middleton) 1997-1998

Duration: EP: 1, 4 - 6, 8 - 9, 48  |  SE: 1.1, 1.4 - 1.6, 1.8 - 1.9, 1.48

 

 

With his dad being the Dragon's superfan he was, it was inevitable that the birth of Des Baker's children would involve the team somehow! With Stephen, he arrived in the second half of the 1984-85 season as Des and Lynette travelled back from an away game, particularly memorable as Harchester missed a crucial penalty. The club entrenched itself further in Stephen's life from a young age, as Des set up the family home as a digs for Harchester's youth team players. Stephen shared his childhood home alongside many of the Dragon's future stars, including Karl Fletcher and Dean and Sean Hocknell. A dream for any young football fan growing up.

 

By the late 90's Stephen loves to be involved in all the mischief the youth teamers get into, from Dean's secret admirer sending him presents to announcing how he saw Conor going through Zoe's underwear draw as part of his initiation set by Sean. Later in the season the Baker's are torn apart when a question mark hangs over Zoe's parentage. Des briefly stays at Warren's flat, and Stephen visits, telling him how unhappy the house is and pleads with his dad to come home. The Baker's put this behind them, and as Harchester survive in the Premier League, Des feels they have outgrown the digs being run from their house and it is time to move to an academy-style hostel.

 

Lynette is not happy with their new surroundings, with less privacy and even more apprentices, and accepts a three-month job on a cruise ship. Stephen (who by now has taken on the soap-opera unseen child stance of always being at school, in his room or out with friends) stays with Des at the hostel until Christmas 1998 when he goes to stay with Lynette at her new base in Southampton. Having missed his mom, Stephen decides to stay with her permanently, and Des realises the hostel has cost him his own family, and gives it up to rejoin them.