Shona McGarty

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

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.

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 are set to air in 2024, following the end of her contract.

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.