EastEnders star Shona McGarty reveals the real reason she quit the BBC soap after 16 years

Shona McGarty has said she ‘feels like she’s leaving home’ as she opened up about the real reason she’s quitting EastEnders.

The 32-year-old actress, who joined the soap in 2008 at the age of 16 playing the iconic Whitney Dean, revealed she would be quitting in July after playing the long-running character for 16 years.

Shona has now revealed it was a ‘really difficult’ decision to leave the soap, but has decided she wants to explore ‘other options’ before she is ‘too old’.

She said The sun: ‘It was a very difficult decision because it is all I have ever known. I pretty much grew up on the square, so it feels like I’m leaving my home. But I had to put on my big girl pants and be very brave, because life is so short, and you feel that more and more as you get older.

‘There are other opportunities and areas in the industry I want to explore before I get too old! Everything comes to an end and this is the new chapter of my life.

Shona has now revealed it was a ‘really difficult’ decision to leave the soap, but has decided she wants to explore ‘other options’ before she is ‘too old’

The actress, 32, who joined the soap in 2008 at the age of 16 playing the iconic Whitney Dean, revealed she would be quitting in July after playing the long-running character for 16 years (pictured in 2008).

“So even though it was a big decision, once I made it, I was determined that this was something I had to do. I mean, 16 years is great. I’ve had a really good run and Whitney needs a break.”

The BBC star filmed her final scenes earlier this month and was greeted by fans outside Elstree Studios as she headed home.

Shona added: “I’m not going to lie, I feel like it’s a kind of sadness and I didn’t think I’d be that emotional. But it was just beautiful to see all these fans who had these messages and cards, and even though I tried to keep it together, I kind of fell to pieces.”

She smiled as she drove home from work, stopping at the gate to pose for selfies with fans gathered outside.

The soap star took time to leave video messages as she signed autographs and chatted with the audience.

Shona’s car was filled with flowers, cards and gifts from her co-stars as she left the studio for the final time.

Shona’s character Whitney returned to Walford in 2008 as the adopted daughter of Bianca Jackson (played by Patsy Palmer).

She has been at the heart of countless intense storylines, including grooming, sexual abuse, baby loss, kidnapping, stalking and illegal affairs.

Whitney has been given a dramatic send-off following a shocking pregnancy storyline.

She said: ‘It was a very difficult decision because it’s all I’ve ever known. There are other opportunities and areas in the industry that I want to explore before I get too old! Everything comes to an end and this is the new chapter of my life’ (photo 2022)

Shona added: ‘I’m not going to lie, I feel like it’s a kind of sadness and I didn’t think I would be that emotional’ (Photo 2022)

Shona’s character Whitney returned to Walford in 2008 as the adopted daughter of Bianca Jackson (played by Patsy Palmer left). In 2020, she killed the deranged Leo King for the soap’s 35th anniversary (pictured in 2008)

The character and her partner Zack Hudson (played by James Farrar) have been trying to have a child for a long time.

She previously terminated a pregnancy after discovering her little girl suffered from Edwards syndrome, meaning her baby would not have survived long after birth.

Whitney was left completely devastated by the loss and vowed never to try to have a biological child again. That’s why she and Zack applied for foster care.

The couple looked after a young boy, Ashton, over the Christmas period, but he was soon adopted, leaving the couple more alone than ever.

In 2008, Whitney was groomed and abused by her mother’s on-screen partner and in 2020 she murdered the deranged Leo King to mark the soap’s 35th anniversary.

It’s unknown what the actress will do next, but she revealed that she only had a week off after filming her final episode before embarking on a new top-secret project.

However, it is likely that Shona will do something with music as she regularly posts videos of her singing on social media.

In 2012 she performed at Children in Need singing Sm Cooke’s A Change is Gonna Come.

She has also been part of a number of difficult storylines, including grooming, sexual abuse, baby loss, kidnapping, stalking and illicit affairs (pictured with partner Zack Hudson, played by James Farrar)

She released a charity song for Great Ormond Street Hospital in 2018 and covered The Beatles’ Let It Be for the charity Mind in 2021.

In 2022, Shona sang at the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall for BBC1.

She added that “singing is her first love” and revealed that she has already “written a lot of songs” and would love to release an album one day.