Former Hollyoaks star Sarah Jayne Dunn is looking for a route back into television four years after leaving her long-running role on the Channel 4 soap
19:17, 13 Apr 2026Updated 19:17, 13 Apr 2026
Sarah Jayne Dunn(Image: INSTAGRAM/sarahjaynedunn)
Sarah Jayne Dunn has pleaded with bosses to give her another chance on television yeas after leaving her role on Hollyoaks. The actress quit the Channel 4 soap in 2021 to became an OnlyFans star and teach pole dancing.
The 44-year-old had previously been asked to shut down her account as she posed in little clothing. However, she refused and left her role on the soap instead. She had played the part of Mandy Richardson since 1996 before her exit.
But now, despite making her decision five years ago, she wants to return to acting. She shared her thoughts in a recent Instagram post, saying: “I haven’t been on screen in over 4 years, but that doesn’t mean I stopped wanting it.
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Sarah started an OnlyFans page(Image: @sarahjaynedunn/instagram)
She also became a pole dance teacher(Image: Sarah Jayne Dunn/Instagram)
“But now I’m a woman in my mid-40s trying to find my way back. Not because I ever stopped loving it.. but because somewhere along the way, life shifted, and my priorities changed, and time just moved on. And suddenly… the thing that once felt like me felt further away.”
She went on: “But here’s the truth I can’t ignore anymore, I still have that pull, that desire, that voice saying, ‘you’re not done yet’. And if I’m honest.. it’s equal parts EXCITING and TERRIFYING to admit that out loud.
“Because this industry moves fast, and stepping back into it as a woman in her 40s? That takes a different kind of confidence.”
Sarah’s lengthy comment continued: “But maybe it also brings something more… experience, depth and stories that couldn’t have been told before. So this is me.. Showing up again as an actress – and not who I was, but who I am now.”
And she ended with a plea: “If you’re casting, creating or reading this… I’m here. And if you’re ever felt the pull to return to something you love, go for it.”
Last year, Sarah admitted the decision to leave Hollyoaks was “taken out of my hands”. During an exclusive interview with New, Sarah openly addressed how her shock exit from the Channel 4 soap was misconstrued.
Sarah on Hollyoaks(Image: Grab)
She said: “I never really left, it was sort of misconstrued. When I joined OnlyFans, it was never my intention to leave the show [ Hollyoaks ]. That decision was taken out of my hands, and widely publicised.
“When you’re an actor, you don’t ever “leave”, you’re in-between jobs. I’ve auditioned for other stuff, and if the right job came along and it fitted into my life and schedule, then I’d do it. I’ve been acting since I was a teen, so there’s always going to be part of me that misses it.”
She said at the time that she wasn’t looking for a way back, but it now seems as though that has changed.
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