SARAH Jayne Dunn has broken her silence following her axe from Hollyoaks in a row over OnlyFans.
The soap actress addressed her legion of fans on social media in an Instagram story on Thursday morning.
Sarah, 40, shared a post with the words: “Thank you for your support”, followed by a love heart.
The mother-of-one has starred in the role of Mandy on the Channel 4 teen soap for a massive 25 years.
But her time on the popular show came to an abrupt end after it was revealed she’d joined adult website OnlyFans.
The glamorous actress has been stripping off online for several weeks, prompting a warning from bosses over her conduct because of the show’s young audience.
With Hollyoaks chiefs finally taking the decision to axe one of their biggest stars, saying her raunchy online content is at odds with the show’s young viewers.
Sarah has enjoyed six separate stints on the teen-focussed soap as Mandy Richardson – one of the show’s biggest characters – most recently reprising her role in 2017.
Admitting some fans would “find it shocking,” she explained her reason for joining OnlyFans and said: “I’m simply moving my sexier, racier images to another platform.
“This is a decision I’ve thought long and hard about, not one I’ve taken lightly or on a whim, it’s about taking back control, about empowerment and confidence and having full power over my choices.
“I love doing photo shoots, always have always will, it’s how I got into the acting industry, at the tender age of 12 I decided I wanted to be a model and enrolled on a modelling course, joined an agency and had my first professional shoot and I was hooked. I got my first TV audition and the rest is history.
“I’ve been lucky enough to travel to some pretty amazing places for photoshoots since being 17, that being said I’ve never felt in control, of the content or of the finances.”
In a statement earlier this week, a Hollyoaks spokeswoman said: “Hollyoaks 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.
“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.”
