EXCLUSIVE: EastEnders’ Shona McGarty in new Strictly talks as she shares health issue that led to snub

EastEnders star Shona McGarty is in talks to appear on Strictly after once turning it down due to anxiety issues.

The actress, 32, who is quitting the BBC soap this month after 15 years as Whitney Dean, revealed in 2021 she had been approached but knocked the offer back. But three years on, sources say she is exploring an offer to join the dance contest for its 22nd series.

One source said: “Shona would be a great fit for the show. She’s a real favourite with soap fans, as well as being incredibly bubbly and good fun. She is also a big fan of Strictly but when she was approached for it the first time, she was really worried it might be too much for her.

“A few years on, she is a lot more confident and the timing is better, because she won’t have to juggle the show with her commitments to EastEnders.”

Shona admitted she snubbed Strictly as “my anxiety got the better of me, and I thought I would be too nervous to do a live show”.

EastEnders stars have a great recent record on the show with Rose Ayling-Ellis lifting the trophy in 2021, Nigel Harman doing well in 2023 before injuring a rib, and Bobby Brazier making it to the final last year.

Last year Strictly saw EastEnders star Bobby Brazier make it to the final with Dianne Buswell. In 2022 James Bye took to the dancefloor with pro dancer Amy Dowden. And the previous year saw Rose Ayling-Ellis lift the glitterball trophy with Giovanni Pernice. Other Albert Square favourites who have showed off their moves include Kellie Bright, Nigel Harman and Emma Barton.

Within the Eastenders world, viewers watched as Whitney came to Walford with her step-mum Bianca Jackson, played by Patsy Palmer, and was embroiled in a shocking sexual abuse storyline with Bianca’s boyfriend Tony. In the last year, Whitney has faced the tragic lost of her daughter before falling pregnant with Zack Hudson ( James Farrar ) for a second time after deciding to become foster parents.

Her exit storyline has seen her lie to Zack about paying the neighbour of Bianca a large sum of money in exchange for her neglected daughter, Britney. Speaking about her upcoming departure in April, Shona admitted: “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. There are other opportunities and areas of the industry I want to explore before I get too old! All things come to an end and this is the new chapter of my life.”