Shona Mcgarty
“I’ve always wanted Whit to have babies!”
WALFORD’S SHONA MCGARTY LOOKS BACK ON WHITNEY’S LIFETIME OF TRAUMA…
Taking a walk down memory lane can be fun – unless your name is Whitney Dean! This week, Square star Shona Mcgarty joins Stacey Dooley to stroll back through her alter ego’s most significant moments. Needless to say, it’s a compilation of terror, tragedy and despair.
“I’ve cried a lot on the show – there weren’t many happy storylines!” laughs Shona, who made her Walford debut in 2008. “I don’t like watching myself, so I wanted to hide behind a cushion. It was interesting to see, and be reminded of how Whitney started out and how she came in to the show. There were even some scenes that I’d forgotten about!”
Shona was just a teenager when she joined
Eastenders as Bianca’s feisty stepdaughter. Growing up on the show was a surreal experience, yet she credits her co-stars and the production team for looking out for her.
“Patsy Palmer [Bianca] was just so lovely and completely took me under her wing,” enthuses Shona. “She looked after me the whole time. I couldn’t believe I was there, meeting people such as Adam Woodyatt [Ian] and Barbara Windsor [Peggy Mitchell], it was amazing. I thought that I’d be there a month and that’d be it, but I’m still here 12 years later, it’s crazy!”
As part of ‘The Jackson Five’, aka Bianca’s brood, Shona became very close to her on-screen siblings.
“The best memories I have are of being with the kids on set,” she tells us. “I spent a lot of time with Maisie Smith [Tiffany], Devon Higgs [Morgan Butcher] and James Forde [Liam Butcher]. I would buy them lovely little gifts every Christmas with the money I earned.
One year, we bought walkie-talkies and we ran around the building having a great time. Eastenders is brilliant at looking after children on set.”
Although she’s done 12 years in the show, Shona says that one of her favourite storylines took place earlier this year, after Whitney killed her stalker ex Leo King in self-defence.
“The hunger strike in prison was such a challenge for me, and I really enjoyed it,” reveals Shona. “When
I read the script, and saw that Whitney would have hallucinations and see herself as a child, I cried because I thought, ‘Finally!’
Some people, especially younger viewers, don’t remember what happened to her when she was 12. Whitney’s always looking for love in all the wrong places because of what happened to her, and the abuse she hasn’t really dealt with. It was very damaging.”
When Eastenders hits screens in September, we will find out what happened to Whitney, and if she did stand trial for Leo’s murder. We’ll also discover if her attraction to secret wife-beater Gray is going to be the next chapter in her nightmare love life. What does Shona hope for her alter ego going forward?
“Maybe she should get help with her issues and find someone nice – a bit of a cheeky chappy who’s a laugh,” she muses. “I also want her to have kids! I’ve always wanted Whitney to have babies. I’d like her to be comfortable and happy. I know it’s a big ask!”
Whitney needs a cheeky chappy who’s a laugh…