Hollyoaks' Sarah Jayne Dunn axed from TV soap after joining adult site OnlyFans

4 November 2021, 14:06

Hollyoaks actress Sarah Jayne Dunn has been dropped from the TV soap after refusing to remove her OnlyFans account.

The 40-year-old actress, who plays Mandy Richardson in the Channel 4 show, said the decision is about "taking back control, empowerment and confidence".

The star joined the show in 1996 - playing Mandy for 15 years - and then returned to the drama in 2017.

She recently said she was putting her "sexier, racier" photos on OnlyFans.

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But Hollyoaks said it does not allow any Hollyoaks cast members to be active on such sites, due to its younger audience.

A spokesman said they respected her decision to continue posting on OnlyFans, and said it was "sad" to see her go.

She said leaving the show is about having "full power" over her choices.

'Without OnlyFans many of us would've been forced into danger.'

OnlyFans is an online adult subscription service where those who post content earn money from "fans" who subscribe to them.

Creators receive 80% commission on their earnings, while the remaining 20% goes to the London-based firm.

Sharing her decision to leave, Sarah said: "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'll undoubtedly be judged, some might find it shocking, but I'm simply moving my sexier, racier images to another platform, I'm not sure what's shocking about it, most likely a few trolls will crawl out from under their rocks, but I get that when I post these images on here anyway, it's nothing I haven't heard before, unfortunately they'll always be haters and people that want a reason to knock you down, I won't let them, this is about rising above and owning it."

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Hollyoaks said in a statement 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 added: "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."