EastEnders legend who left after 16 years addresses return chances

Shona is open to returning as Whitney (Picture: BBC / Kieron McCarron/Jack Barnes)

EastEnders legend Shona McGarty has addressed the possibility of a return to the role of Whitney Dean, and it’s good news for fans.

The actress left the BBC soap earlier this year after 16 years in emotional scenes.

After discovering that Zack Hudson (James Farrar) had cheated on her with best friend Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa), Whitney left the Square with Britney Wainwright (Lola Campbell) and new baby Dolly.

Having departed on the back of a bus, there is scope for the character to return in future – something that Shona has admitted she is keen for.

Whitney left the Square earlier this year (Picture: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)

‘I would absolutely go back to EastEnders – it’s 16 years of creating a family, I grew up on that show,’ she told The Sun.

‘I’ve got a really good relationship with EastEnders, the doors open but at the moment not yet.’

With the show’s 40th anniversary approaching, Shona added that she wouldn’t say no if she was invited back to celebrate the landmark.

Bianca is currently being held captive in a storage unit (Picture: BBC)

There would certainly be plenty of drama ahead for Whitney if she was to return, given what Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer) is currently going through.

Viewers were left shocked when it was revealed that Reiss Colwell (Jonny Freeman) had kidnapped her and locked her in a storage unit, after she discovered the truth about his murder of wife Debbie.

‘It’s mad, poor Bianca, I feel as Whitney I should go and rescue her,’ Shona said of the storyline. ‘Whitney would get her out!’