Sarah Jayne Dunn | |
|---|---|
 Dunn in 2012 | |
| Born | 25 September 1981 Leigh, Greater Manchester, England |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Spouse | Jonathan Smith (m. 2018) |
| Children | 1 |
Sarah Jayne Dunn (born 25 September 1981) is an English actress, known for portraying the role of Mandy Richardson on the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks from 1996 until 2021. In November 2021, Dunn was dropped from Hollyoaks after she joined the adult subscription service OnlyFans. [2]
Dunn first appeared on the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks on 12 September 1996, walking into the video shop in the forty-third episode. Mandy came into the village at the age of 14 as a "wannabe supermodel" and quickly formed a friendship with Ollie Benson. In 2003, Dunn played a supporting role in the Brookside DVD spin-off, Unfinished Business. In 2004 Dunn appeared in the fitness DVD Hollyoaks Dance workout with Ali Bastian (Becca Dean) and Jodi Albert (Debbie Dean). Dunn left Hollyoaks as a cast regular in 2006.
Dunn has since returned to Hollyoaks five times. In February 2007 for a two episode stint for the funeral of Mandy's best friend, Becca. She returned in 2008 for six months, leaving in December after the disastrous wedding of Warren Fox (Jamie Lomas) and Louise Summers (Roxanne McKee). In November 2010 Dunn returned to Hollyoaks with a one-year contract alongside Lomas, leaving in September 2011. Dunn reprised her role as Mandy for a guest stint in the spin-off Hollyoaks Later in October 2013. On 2 June 2017, it was announced that Dunn would reprise her role as Mandy alongside Gary Lucy, who plays Luke Morgan, in the main show.
Throughout her career, Dunn has been pictured wearing lingerie for glamour photography which she has shared on her Instagram account. On 22 October 2021, Dunn announced her decision to open an OnlyFans account to share her "sexier, racier" content. She explained that as a model, she was constantly compared to other women and her photos were edited to change her appearance without her consent; she opened the OnlyFans account to take control of her image. She added: "I feel sexy and strong and confident when I shoot images like this. I hope I give other women the confidence to own it, to work hard on themselves, to eat well and healthily and to move their bodies in whatever way makes them feel most alive and energised, to wear whatever they like without judgement and to feel proud to be a woman." Dunn's fans and Hollyoaks viewers supported her decision, while a spokesperson for Hollyoaks confirmed that the production team would be meeting with Dunn to discuss the account. [3]
On 3 November 2021, after her meeting with production, it was reported that Dunn had been "axed" from Hollyoaks. The reason given was that Dunn being active on OnlyFans was "not in line with its target audience"; the production team felt that they have a responsibility to younger viewers and stated that "the show does not allow any Hollyoaks cast members to be active on certain 18+ websites". [3] In their statement, the team confirmed that they wanted Dunn to take down her OnlyFans account to continue portraying Mandy, but due to her decision to continue posting on the website, they made the decision to write Mandy out of the soap. Viewers criticised the decision to axe Dunn and her character and stated that the soap are hypocritical due to formerly producing calendars showcasing the cast in similar photographs to Dunn's OnlyFans content. [4] Fans stated that they would boycott the soap and started a petition to reinstate her job. Dunn thanked fans for the support and later voiced her disappointment in her sacking. In an interview, she said that she would miss the cast and crew members and that she expected more from the production team, particularly due to her years of experience on the programme. [5]
In 2007 Dunn appeared in single episodes of the BBC One series The Innocence Project , the BBC Three series Drop Dead Gorgeous and It's Adam and Shelley . She has also appeared in nine episodes of BBC One's medical soap opera Doctors . She has also appeared in an episode of Big Brother's Little Brother . In January 2010 Dunn appeared with Helen Noble on Ready Steady Cook . In January 2011 Dunn appeared in the former reality show Famous and Fearless on Channel 4. In May 2011 Dunn appeared in two episodes of the three partl BBC One series Exile. In October 2011 Dunn appeared in an episode of the BBC One reality series The Real Hustle. In 2014/15 she played international charity worker Taylor Ashbie in the BBC One medical drama Casualty (Series 29, episodes 13 to 29), who became the girlfriend of cast regular Caleb Knight (Richard Winsor). She left after it was revealed that the charity was actually a con-trick, and that she had knowingly conned Knight. She returned to the production in late 2015.
In 2007 Dunn had lead roles in the short films Northern Cowboys and Betting in Bars. Dunn had a brief role in the 2008 film, The Dark Knight . In 2011 she played a character called Victoria in a film called Death.
Dunn played Gloria in a UK regional tour of the comedy play Boeing-Boeing . The tour started at the Liverpool Playhouse on 18 December 2008 and finished at the Birmingham Rep on 25 April 2009. [6] Dunn appeared in a tour of The Vagina Monologues which began on 7 September 2009 at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley and ended on 8 December 2009 at the Jersey Opera House. [7] In 2010 Dunn played Sally in the UK regional theatre tour of When Harry Met Sally... which started on 3 February at the Theatre Royal, Wakefield, and ended on 26 June at the Sheffield Lyceum Theatre. [8] When Harry met Sally then played at the Grand Canal Theatre in Dublin, Ireland for one week ending on 3 July 2010. [9]
In September 2007, it was announced that, along with her former Hollyoaks colleague Helen Noble and theatre actor Graham Tudor, she would be teaching students at a new acting school in Liverpool. [10]
Sarah has a son. [11]
Alexandra Louise Bastian is an English actress, known for her roles as Becca Dean in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, Sally Armstrong in the ITV drama series The Bill and Becky Clarke in the BBC soap opera Doctors. She has also competed in the seventh series of Strictly Come Dancing.
Gillian Taylforth is an English actress. She is known for her role as Kathy Beale on the BBC soap opera EastEnders, as well as appearing as Jackie Pascoe on ITV's Footballers' Wives (2002–2006) and Sgt. Nikki Wright in ITV's The Bill (2006–2008). She has also appeared in film during her early career, has presented on ITV's Loose Women and appeared as a celebrity contestant on Strictly Come Dancing in 2008.
Natalie Casey is a British actress, presenter, narrator and singer. She portrayed Carol Groves in the television show Hollyoaks (1996–2000) and Donna Henshaw in Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps (2001–2011).
Mandy Richardson is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Sarah Jayne Dunn. She first appeared on 7 October 1996 and has been involved in various storylines, including dealing with sexual abuse while she was a child by her father Dennis, the suicide of her brother Lewis, and an on-off relationship with Tony Hutchinson before the couple married. Mandy had a miscarriage causing her to hit Tony. Mandy and Tony had a daughter together who they named Grace, only for her to die from sudden infant death syndrome. This led to the character and Dunn's exit from the serial in 2006. Dunn made a brief return in 2007 before making a return for six months in 2008. Dunn reprised her role as Mandy in 2010; in September 2011, Dunn announced her departure from the soap, and Mandy made her last appearance on 2 September 2011 before departing off-screen. Dunn later returned to her role in the sixth series of Hollyoaks Later in October 2013. In June 2017, it was announced that Dunn had reprised the role again and that Mandy would appear from July alongside Luke Morgan, played by Gary Lucy. Mandy returned on 26 July 2017. In November 2021, it was announced that Dunn's contract with Hollyoaks had been terminated due to starting an OnlyFans; viewers of the soap criticised the decision and Dunn herself voiced her disappointment with the production team. Her final scenes aired on 27 December 2021, and Mandy was given an off-screen departure on 31 January 2022.
Tony Hutchinson is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Nick Pickard. His first appearance on-screen occurred on 23 October 1995, the inaugural episode of the programme, and is the longest-serving character in the soap. The character was created by Phil Redmond, as one of several main characters for the show.
Jayne Claire King is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Kim Tate in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale since 1989, and as Karen Betts in Bad Girls from 2000 until 2004. She has appeared in the fourth series of Strictly Come Dancing in 2006, Safari School in 2007, and Celebrity Big Brother 14 in 2014. She also played Erica Holroyd in Coronation Street from 2014 until 2017.
Gemma Bissix is an English actress. She has been acting since the age of 9. Her most prominent roles have been in soap operas, as Clare Bates in EastEnders and Clare Devine in Hollyoaks ; she was awarded with two British Soap Awards for the latter role. Away from soap opera, Bissix has appeared in various television programmes and she competed in the 2009 series of Dancing on Ice. She has appeared in various pantomimes. Bissix returned to Hollyoaks in 2013.
Ben Richards is a British stage and television actor and dancer. Richards studied dance from an early age and later took part in theatre. He gained supporting roles in London's West End and gradually filled the role of the lead. After small roles in two films, Richards began his television career with guest roles in various British serials. In 2004, he joined the regular cast of the ITV drama Footballers' Wives and after the series ended he resumed theatre work. Richards went on to secure roles in Holby City and The Bill. While working on the latter, Richards said that he would always pursue his career in theatre. After leaving the series he returned to theatre work. In 2015, he joined the cast of the soap opera Hollyoaks and finished filming the following year. He then returned to stage roles in the West End.
Carley Stenson is an English actress and singer. She is known for her roles as Steph Cunningham in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks and Harriet Shelton in the BBC soap opera Doctors. For her role as Steph, she received numerous nominations at the British Soap Awards.
Helen Cunningham is a fictional character from the British soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Kathryn George. The character debuted on-screen during the episode broadcast on 8 September 1997. Helen was centric to several storylines including her marriage with Gordon Cunningham, dealing with the suicide of her son Lewis Richardson and her daughter Mandy Richardson's abuse at the hands of her ex-husband, Dennis Richardson. Producers also created an advanced maternal age storyline for the character, where she becomes pregnant with Gordon's child and gives birth to Tom Cunningham. In 2003, writers featured Helen in an infidelity story with Tony Hutchinson. Helen and Tony, who is younger engage in a sexual affair which nearly ruins her on-screen partnership with Gordon.
David "Bombhead" Burke is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Lee Otway. Initially known as "David Witherspoon", he appeared on the soap between 2001 and 2005. In 2010, Otway reprised the role in online spin-off Hollyoaks: Freshers. The character returned again on 13 January 2011 for two episodes.
Ellie Mills is a fictional character from the British soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Sarah Baxendale. The character made her first on-screen appearance on 15 February 2002. Ellie is part of the show's Hunter family. She had been referenced on-screen numerous times as her family were searching for her after she goes missing in Ibiza. She later arrives in Chester which shocks her family. Ellie is characterised as a confident and independent female but has selfish tendencies. Ellie's stories have revolved around her relationships, especially with Toby Mills, who she later marries. Writers portrayed Toby as a serial killer who goes on a prolonged murder spree in the community. Writers embroiled Ellie into his crimes and she choses not to report him to the police. Ellie later fears for her safety and flees to Liverpool. The scenes formed part of a late-night spin-off episode titled Hollyoaks: Leap of Faith, which featured Toby's death. Ellie was featured in one of the show's biggest stunts when she and Toby fall from a one-hundred foot building. Ellie survives and later allows her brother, Dan Hunter to take the blame for the murders. Ellie's lies are soon discovered and she is arrested and put on trial for covering up Toby's murders.
Lee Hunter is a fictional character from the English soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Alex Carter. The character made his first on-screen appearance on 5 July 2001. Lee was introduced as part of the show's new family, the Hunters. He is the youngest son of Les and Sally Hunter. Lee is characterised as "wayward", a "cheeky chap" and a "wheeler dealer". Carter announced his decision to quit the serial in 2005 to have more free time, filming his departure scenes in October 2005 and departed on-screen 23 December 2005.
Luke Morgan is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Gary Lucy. He was introduced by the show's creator Phil Redmond as part of the Morgan family, and made his first appearance on 29 March 1999. The character was involved in a male rape storyline, which was branded "groundbreaking" and met with controversy. Lucy opted to leave the role in 2001 after two years, although he returned for two episodes in August 2002. The character's reintroduction was announced on 21 May 2017 and he returned on 24 July. Lucy took a break from the series in 2018 to appear in a play. The character made a few brief appearances throughout 2019 before he returned permanently in August. Luke was killed off in 2022, with his final scenes airing on 9 June 2022. He returned briefly in 2023 as a vision to his former fiancée Cindy Cunningham.
Laura Burns is a fictional character from the British soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Lesley Johnston between November 2000 and 2002.
Hollyoaks began airing on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom on 23 October 1995. The target audience was that of teenagers and it initially dramatised the lives of seven of that age group who lived in Hollyoaks, a fictional suburb in the city of Chester in Cheshire, England.
The sixth series of Hollyoaks Later is a British television series and late night spin-off of Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks. The series consists of five episodes, which aired from 7 October to 11 October 2013, on E4. The series transmitted to concur with the main show's eighteenth anniversary and acted as "a celebration of Hollyoaks past and present". These celebrations included several former cast members returning for the series as part of original character Tony Hutchinson's storyline. These returns included Jeremy Edwards, James Redmond, John Pickard and Sarah Jayne Dunn.
