| Whitney Dean | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| EastEnders character | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Shona McGarty Phoebe Farnham (2020 flashback) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 2008–2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | Episode 3553 1 April 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | Episode 6913 23 May 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Diederick Santer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spin-off appearances | Last Tango in Walford (2010) EastEnders: E20 (2010) East Street (2010) The Queen Vic Quiz Night (2020) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Whitney Dean (also Carter) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Shona McGarty. The character is the ward of long-running character Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer) and was introduced on 1 April 2008 when Palmer returned to the series after a nine-year absence. Whitney is described by executive producer Diederick Santer as both an equal to, and younger version of Bianca, and is the oldest of Bianca's four children. Whitney was absent from the soap across four weeks in 2012 when McGarty was suspended for repeated lateness. McGarty took a short break in 2017 and Whitney departed on 29 May and returned on 31 July of that year. On 1 June 2018, McGarty filmed her 1,000th episode as Whitney. On 29 July 2023, it was announced that McGarty had resigned from her role after fifteen years, and Whitney departed from the soap on 23 May 2024.[1][2]
From debut on the show, Whitney became known for often being involved in tragic storylines, including the fracturing of her family life; her sexual abuse by Bianca's fiancé Tony King (Chris Coghill); her sexual exploitation by local pimp Rob Grayson (Jody Latham); her one-night stand with Joey Branning (David Witts) in the midst of being engaged to her first fiancé Tyler Moon (Tony Discipline); her marriage with Lee Carter (Danny-Boy Hatchard) that ultimately breaks down as a result of his depression; Lee's infidelity with Abi Branning (Lorna Fitzgerald), which resulted in him passing chlamydia to Whitney and consequently led her to miscarry their unborn baby; her romantic crush on Lee's father Mick (Danny Dyer); her wedding to Callum Highway (Tony Clay) that ends in disaster after she learns that he is having a romantic affair with Ben Mitchell (Max Bowden); being stalked by Tony's vengeful son Leo King (Tom Wells), which soon culminates with Whitney stabbing and killing him in self-defence; accidentally running over her close friend Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace) and then fleeing the scene; being impregnated by Zack Hudson (James Farrar); discovering that her baby has Edwards syndrome and omphalocele, which ultimately leads to her deciding to terminate her pregnancy; and illegally fostering Britney Wainwright (Lola Campbell).
The child sexual abuse storyline between Whitney and Tony marked the first time that the subject matter has been broached in a UK soap opera; the matter was researched and developed with advice and approval from the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). The inappropriate nature of Whitney's relationship with Tony resulted in over 200 complaints being made to the BBC and television regulatory body Ofcom by members of the public, and was described by the Daily Mirror's Beth Neil as "one of the darkest and most disturbing storylines EastEnders has ever attempted".[3] However, the NSPCC praised the storyline for "helping to raise awareness of the hidden nature of sexual abuse".[4] The storyline also gained EastEnders a Royal Television Society Programme Award in 2009 in the Soap and Continuing Drama category.
- ^ "EastEnders' Shona McGarty quits role as Whitney Dean after 15 years".
- ^ "EastEnders airs bittersweet farewell for Whitney Dean in early BBC iPlayer release".
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