19 February 2024 , 19:31
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Sarah Jayne Dunn has opened up about her decision to leave the Hollyoaks for OnlyFans.
The actress was given an ultimatum by her bosses - choose between OnlyFans or her acting career. Despite leaving her role as Mandy Richardson, Sarah says she's happier than ever. The 42-year-old joined the Channel 4 soap in 1996 and was let go from the show in 2021.
She has since been thriving in a whole new career online, where she makes racy content on the adult-only platform. At the time, Hollyoaks bosses said they take their responsibility to their young audience “very seriously”, and don’t allow cast members to be active on “certain 18+ websites”.
Sarah was on Hollyoaks for over 20 years (Ray Burmiston / Lime Pictures)
She now makes online adult content (Instagram/Ann Summers)"I didn't leave acting, that was never my intention," Sarah has since insisted to OK Magazine. "The whole point of joining OnlyFans and moving over to that platform is because I was already shooting my content and putting it up on Instagram." She said it "made sense" to join the platform as "you've got the copyright and it's protected".
Hollyoaks fans were upset when Sarah left the show after nearly 20 years, but they continued to support her. "I never anticipated such a big reaction from the media, and I was thrown into that without any warning," said Sarah. "It was a whirlwind for a good couple of months, but luckily, it was all very positive." The former actress shared how she had "good support" from women that helped "inspire" her.
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Sarah feels strong and happy because she is a mum, over 40, and married, and still gets to be sexy. She added she is "trying to blaze the trail for other women." Sarah is currently a star on new reality show In Real Life where top stars give an insight into their OnlyFans experience.
Other stars of the show include Lottie Moss, Kerry Katona, Ebanie Bridges, Elle Brooke and Eliza Watson. When Sarah joined OnlyFans, she explained Kerry, Lottie and Megan Barton Hanson reached out to her. Sarah wants to keep acting but also loves making stuff for OnlyFans. She doesn't think she'll stop anytime soon.
Sarah recently revealed a mystery Hollyoaks co-star was the person who placed the formal complaint about her saucy snaps found on the subscription-based website. "Apparently there is one person who complained," she explained. "I think I know who that is now, I have my suspicions for sure." Speaking to The Sun, she added: "It was like any workplace — you get on with most people, but there will be a couple that you don’t," before saying that 'you can't please everyone.'
In 2022, the mum-of-one reflected on how she was forced to leave the long-running soap. “I’ve not stopped acting, I will still audition and look for other roles. It was never my intention to leave the show, but I’m in a much happier place now,” she said during an appearance on Loose Women, alongside her husband Jonathan Smith.