Ex-Hollyoaks star Sarah Jayne Dunn opens up over exit from soap

Former Hollyoaks star Sarah Jayne Dunn has said that she feels more liberated than ever after being forced to quit the soap over her OnlyFans account.

Back in November 2021, the Channel 4 show confirmed that Dunn would no longer portray long-standing character Mandy Richardson, having played her since 1996, due to the content she produces for the adult subscription platform.

Taking to Instagram, Dunn took part in a Q&A that saw one of her followers ask how she felt about not working on Hollyoaks anymore. "Free," she replied candidly, sharing a photo of herself seemingly dancing in a restaurant.

sarah jayne dunn as mandy richardson in hollyoaks

Lime Pictures

Prompted by her response, another fan wondered: "If Hollyoaks had of let you stay regardless of OnlyFans, would you have left anyways?"

"Leaving the show was never my intention of my choice but I believe in everything for a reason and I'm much happier now," Dunn admitted, before teasingly noting that she'll "miss *most* of the cast".

When news of Dunn's exit first broke last year, Hollyoaks explained that it is "a youth-facing drama with many young viewers, who follow our cast very closely". Due to that reason, it doesn't permit any of its actors to participate in certain 18+ websites.

embargo 24082021 mandy richardson and luke morgan in hollyoaks

Lime Pictures

"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," its statement added.

"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."

At the same time, Dunn said that she hoped her decision to walk away from the show would "inspire many other women to own their power, dismiss judgment, and embrace their feminine".

Hollyoaks airs new episodes from Mondays to Fridays at 6.30pm on Channel 4, with first-look screenings at 7pm on E4. Selected omnibus episodes are available via Amazon Prime Video.