Shona McGarty

 ( 1991 Births ) 

Shona Bernadette McGarty (born 14 October 1991) is an English actress and singer, known for her portrayal of Whitney Dean in the BBC One soap opera EastEnders from 2008 to 2024.

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Early life Shona Bernadette McGarty was born on 14 October 1991 in London Borough of Barnet to Patrick McGarty and Jennifer McNamara. She has a younger sister named Camilla. She is of Irish descent. McGarty attended St. Teresa's Catholic Primary School and later studied at Loreto College, St Albans.

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Career McGarty was involved in amateur musical theatre for six years, including a role in Wizard of Oz. In 2007, she appeared in the short film What Goes Around.

In October 2007, following the announcement that established character Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer) was returning to EastEnders, McGarty was confirmed to be joining the soap as Whitney Dean; the daughter of Bianca's deceased partner Nathan Dean. McGarty began filming in January 2008, and made her first appearance as Whitney on 1 April. Early into her tenure, the character of Whitney was involved in a sexual abuse storyline in which she was groomed by Bianca's partner Tony King. McGarty who was 16 at the time, required her parents to give permission for the storyline to go ahead. In July 2012, McGarty was suspended from EastEnders by the acting executive producer Lorraine Newman "for repeatedly being late for filming". McGarty later regretted her behaviour as "lazy and irresponsible". The same year, McGarty performed the song A Change is Gonna Come for Children in Need 2012. McGarty's other storylines included being sexually exploited by Rob Grayson (Jody Latham), her marriage to Lee Carter (Danny-Boy Hatchard) and subsequent miscarriage, being stalked by Leo King (Tom Wells) which leads to her killing him in self-defence, and being impregnated by Zack Hudson (James Farrar), before discovering the baby has Edwards syndrome and omphalocele, which ultimately leads to her to terminating the pregnancy.

In 2018, McGarty joined 26 other celebrities and performed an original Christmas song, "Rock With Rudolph", a song written and produced by Grahame and Jack Corbyn. The song was recorded in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital and was released digitally on independent record label Saga Entertainment on 30 November 2018 under the artist name the Celebs. The music video debuted with The Sun on 29 November 2018 and had its first TV showing on Good Morning Britain on 30 November 2018. In 2021, McGarty reunited with Saga Entertainment to record a cover of the Beatles song "Let It Be", recorded at Metropolis Studios, in support of British charity Mind and released on 3 December 2021. McGarty was backed by a choir of celebrities including Georgia Hirst, Anne Hegerty, Ivan Kaye and Eunice Olumide, who performed as part of the 2021 line up of the Celebs.

In July 2023, McGarty announced her departure from EastEnders after fifteen years. In an interview with The Sun, McGarty said she "had decided to spread her wings and would be leaving EastEnders, whilst adding that she had "loved her years in the show." Her final scenes aired in 2024, following the end of her contract.

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Personal life McGarty was in a relationship with her EastEnders co-star Matt Lapinskas from 2011 to 2013. Between 2018 and 2020, McGarty was engaged to long-term partner Ryan Harris. In 2022, McGarty dated her EastEnders co-star Max Bowden for six months.

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Filmography

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Television

2007	What Goes Around	Shona	Short film
2008–2024	EastEnders	Whitney Dean	Regular role
2010	East Street		Charity special
2011	Lauren Branning		2 episodes
2012	Children in Need 2012	Herself	Performer
2020	The Queen Vic Quiz Night	Whitney Dean	Charity special
2020		Herself	Episode: "Whitney and Sonia"

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Music videos

2018	Rock With Rudolph	Herself
2021	Let It Be	Herself

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Discography

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Singles

2012 ! scope="row"	"A Change is Gonna Come"
2018 ! scope="row"	"Rock With Rudolph" (with the Celebs)
2021 ! scope="row"	"Let It Be" (featuring the Celebs)

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Awards and nominations

2009	British Soap Awards	Best Newcomer
2009	Inside Soap Awards	Best Young Actor
2014	2014 British Soap Awards	Sexiest Female
2014	Inside Soap Awards	Sexiest Female
2015	Inside Soap Awards	Sexiest Female
2016	Inside Soap Awards	Sexiest Female
2017	22nd National Television Awards	Serial Drama Performance
2017	Inside Soap Awards	Best Actress
2017	Inside Soap Awards	Sexiest Female
2018	23rd National Television Awards	Serial Drama Performance
2020	25th National Television Awards	Serial Drama Performance
2020	TV Choice	Best Soap Actress
2020	Inside Soap Awards	Best Actress
2020	I Talk Telly Awards	Best Soap Performance
2021	26th National Television Awards	Serial Drama Performance
2021	Inside Soap Awards	Best Actress
2023	2023 British Soap Awards	Best Leading Performer
2023	Inside Soap Awards	Best Actress
2023	Digital Spy Reader Awards	Best Actor

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External links

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