EastEnders icon Shona McGarty confesses real reason she’s leaving BBC soap in ‘brave’ admission
EastEnders star Shona McGarty who plays Whitney Dean has revealed the 'brave' reason she decided to quit the BBC soap after 16 years and says she felt like she was 'leaving home'
EastEnders actress Shona McGarty revealed that she made the “brave” move to quit the soap because “life is too short.”
The star, 32, has played Whitney Dean for 16 years and became a fan favourite due to her hard-hitting storylines on the BBC soap. Shona confirmed reports that she was leaving the iconic show last July after joining in 2008 but said the decision was not an easy one to make.
She’s now explained: “It was a really difficult decision, because it’s all I’ve ever known. I pretty much grew up on the Square, so I feel like I’m leaving home. But I had to put on my big girl pants and be quite brave, because life is so short, and you feel that more and more as you get older.”
Shona felt that there are many other opportunities in the industry that she would like to explore before she reaches an age where she is too old to be considered. Speaking to the Sun, the star added that once “I’d made [the decision to leave], I was quite resolute that this was something I had to do. I mean, 16 years is amazing. I’ve had a really good run and Whitney needs a break.”
Shona McGarty has revealed the real reason she made the decision to quit EastEnders
The BBC star filmed her last scene earlier this month and said she fell to pieces when she drove out of Elstree Studios and was greeted by a hoard of fans, who came with flowers and farewell cards. Speaking of the moment she left the studio for the last time, she recalled: “I’m not gonna lie, I feel like it’s a kind of grief and I didn’t think I’d be so emotional. But seeing all the fans who had these messages and cards was just beautiful and, although I tried to keep it together, I actually fell to pieces.”
Shona has had her fair share of harrowing storylines which started back in 2008 with a grooming plot. Whitney arrived in Walford with Bianca Jackson, played by Patsy Palmer and her boyfriend at the time, Tony. However, viewers soon came to realise that Tony was a paedophile who had been grooming Whitney, who at the time was just a child. In emotional scenes, fans of the show saw Whitney struggle to comprehend the full extent of Tony’s sordid agenda as she believed Tony had genuinely loved her as a girlfriend.
It is still unknown what Shona plans to do now she’s left the BBC soap but she revealed she only had a week off before starting a new secret project. But it is believed she will do something that involves music if her social media posts of her singing are anything to go by. In 2012, she performed on Children In Need singing Sam Cooke’s A Change Is Gonna Come. She also released a charity song for Great Ormond Street Hospital in 2018. In 2022, Shona sang at the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall for BBC1.
