EastEnders star Shona McGarty reveals unscripted tears in final scenes
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EastEnders spoilers follow.
EastEnders star Shona McGarty has revealed the unscripted tears that were kept in her final scenes.
In July 2023, McGarty confirmed her departure from the role of Whitney Dean after 16 years. The character's final episode will air this week.
Whitney's exit comes as she and partner Zack Hudson welcomed their daughter Dolly earlier this week.
The new parents have also been planning their upcoming wedding, which is set to be derailed as Whitney finds out that her soon-to-be husband cheated on her with her friend Lauren Branning.
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Speaking to TV Times Magazine, McGarty explained that Whitney's final scenes made her co-stars visibly emotional, which the director decided to keep in the episode.
"For my last scene, Whitney had to cry — of course! Natalie Cassidy [who plays Sonia Fowler] hugged me in the scene and we both started crying. They kept that in — the director said Sonia would probably be upset," she said.
The actor went on to reveal how she felt when she read the scripts for her character's departure, saying: "When I read her exit storyline, I loved it, because it made sense.
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"It reminds the audience of where she's been and who she is. It's really nostalgic, and brought tears to my eyes. It reminded me of how far I've come, and the journey that me and Patsy [Palmer, who plays Bianca Jackson] have been on. It's beautiful."
On filming Whitney and Zack's "iconic" wedding scenes, she added: "Jacqueline [Jossa, who plays Lauren] and I were talking about the scene before we filmed it, and saying how iconic it felt. We felt like we were making history, which I'm proud of.
"I felt quite nervous because I was in front of a lot of cast members, and it all went very quiet when Whitney finds out the truth. But it felt like classic EastEnders."
EastEnders airs on Mondays - Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer, where most episodes drop early at 6am ahead of their TV broadcast.
Read more EastEnders spoilers on our dedicated homepage
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