EastEnders legend Shona McGarty has snagged a new project after wrapping up her final scenes as Whitney Dean. The actress is saying goodbye to the BBC One soap after sixteen long years. She wanted to “spread her wings” to explore new career horizons. Turns out, her leap of faith has paid off quickly with clutching a new venture so soon. Read on to know all about it!
EastEnders: Shona Lands New Role Ahead of Whitney’s Exit
The EastEnders actress will play the role of Jenny in the play “2:22: A Ghost Story.” She’ll be starring alongside familiar faces like Once Upon a Time’s Colin O’Donoghue, Love Island’s Laura Whitmore, and Strictly’s Jay McGuiness. Additionally, McGarty is very happy about this opportunity as she excitedly shared the big news on Instagram. The play follows the tale of Jenny, who believes her house is haunted. However, her husband Sam isn’t having any of it.
Looks like Shona’s bringing the drama from EastEnders to the stage with her character Jenny. The married couple gets into a fuming debate, which climaxes during a dinner with friends Lauren and Ben. The logline adds, “Can the dead really walk again? Belief and scepticism clash, but something feels strange and frightening.” Then, strange occurrences unfold, leading the characters to stay up until 2:22 AM to uncover the truth.
Furthermore, the show kicks off its run at Dublin’s Olympia Theatre on June 20 and concludes on August 11. The performances are available from Tuesday to Sunday. The EastEnders icon broke the news of her departure from BBC One Soap in July 2023. Shona explained that her character Whitney had gone through some real trouble and needed a break. She added, “The door’s open and I could always come back in the future.”
In addition, the EastEnders veteran also opened up about the actual reason for calling it quits. Shona revealed, “I want to pursue things that are in my heart, like singing — stuff that I’ve been doing since childhood.” The soap journey has been really close to heart but it was time to tap into new surfaces! Here’s hoping McGarty rocks every opportunity that comes her way! Meanwhile, keep an eye on TV Season & Spoilers to catch the latest tea on EastEnders celebs!