Hollyoaks' Sarah Jayne Dunn tells LBC move to OnlyFans was 'best decision I've ever made'

5 November 2021, 10:00

Former Hollyoaks star Sarah Jayne Dunn has told LBC that moving her photos to OnlyFans was the "best decision" she ever made, despite being dropped from the soap because of it.

Sarah told Nick Ferrari at Breakfast that putting her more explicit content behind a paywall, earning her up to £7,000 a week, instead of on her public Instagram account was "empowering."

When faced with a choice on whether to delete the account the "decision for me was quite clear," she said.

"I don't feel like I'm doing anything other than taking back control of my own images and putting them behind a paywall, putting them in a safe space and taking them away from the younger audience," said the actress, who played Mandy Richardson in Hollyoaks, on and off, for more than 20 years.

"It's the best decision I ever made because it's a safe space, it's a great community on there, and I'm in control and that actually is really empowering."

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

Ms Dunn was axed from the Channel 4 show after putting her "sexier, racier" photos on OnlyFans - something Hollyoaks does not allow its cast members to do because of its younger audience.

Nick pointed out that she had featured in a Hollyoaks calendar, and asked the actress if she believed that was "two-faced" of the programme.

Ms Dunn said most of her career she had been "contractually bound" to do photo shoots - many of which were "suggestive" - and she enjoys doing them.

"But for me this is about getting to 40 and going 'actually, I want to decide what shoots I do, which photographers I use, what outfits I wear, where I put the pictures, and actually I'm gonna move them off my Instagram, which is what I've done," she explained.

"So any racier shots I've taken down from my Instagram and made that a more family-friendly platform... and then I've put that [more explicit] content behind a paywall."

Hollyoaks star Sarah Jayne Dunn sacked over OnlyFans account

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

Ms Dunn said she had "thought long and hard" about her decision to choose to remain on OnlyFans, but since she made her choice she had received an outpouring of support.

"All I've had, I'd say 90 per cent, has been messages of support and encouragement," she told Nick.

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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".

"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," the statement added.

"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."