Hollyoaks bosses have confirmed Sarah Jayne Dunn will be leaving the soap, after she joined OnlyFans.
The actress returned to the show in 2017 as Mandy Richardson, after originally appearing in it from 1996 until 2011.
Last month, Sarah signed up for the X-rated subscription site OnlyFans – which allows creators to earn money from fans who pay a fee to see exclusive images and videos of them.
In a statement, Hollyoaks said that it “is a youth-facing drama with many young viewers who follow our cast very closely, both in the soap and outside of it.”
The statement continued: “We take our responsibility to our young audience very seriously and therefore the show does not allow any Hollyoaks cast members to be active on certain 18+ websites.”
“We had hoped we could reach a resolution with Sarah that would allow her to remain in her role as Mandy, but we respect her choice to continue to produce content on OnlyFans.”
“In the past four years since her return to the show her legacy character has been an integral part of some our most important storylines and we will be very sad to see her go.”
Sarah, 40, announced in October that she was “taking back control” by starting an OnlyFans account in a lengthy Instagram post.
She wrote at the time: “This is a decision I’ve thought long and hard about, not one I’ve taken lightly or on a whim, it’s about taking back control, about empowerment and confidence and having full power over my choices. I love doing photo shoots, always have always will, it’s how I got into the acting industry.”
“I’ve never felt in control, of the content or of the finances. I’ve done men’s mag upon men’s mag and calendar upon calendar, I’ve enjoyed every shoot but never felt like I had much say in them. I’ve been pitted against other girls and felt deflated if not chosen for a shoot or for a cover, I’ve been airbrushed, retouched and ‘enhanced’ without consent and without necessity.”
“I feel sexy and strong and confident when I shoot images like this, I hope I give other women the confidence to own it,” the mother-of-one added.
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