Former EastEnders actress Shona McGarty has revealed which of her co-stars encouraged her to take on a new role in 2:22: A Ghost Story.
Shona, 32, played Whitney Dean in the serial for sixteen years, but following her exit is currently starring in the Dublin run of the hit play alongside TV presenter Laura Whitmore and The Wanted’s Jay McGuiness until 11th August.
The supernatural production, which follows four friends having a dinner party in a haunted house, has regular cast changes – with a number of pop, TV and soap stars appearing over the years.
EastEnders actors Jake Wood, Louisa Lytton, Joe Absolom and Ricky Champ have all appeared in the production during various West End stints and a UK tour – and it was the latter who inspired her to take to the stage.
‘I spoke to Ricky Champ, who played Ben in the West End,’ she explained.
‘He told me it was the best thing he had done, he enjoyed it so much and I’d be silly not to do it.’
Ricky played Stuart Highway in the BBC One soap for four years, before departing in 2022.
She continued to RSVP Live: ‘We’ve had some really great audiences so far. They all laugh and get shocked at different things in the show, which keeps us on our toes – you never know how they will react. It’s scary.
‘No matter how many times we do it, I always get butterflies in my stomach and think something could go wrong. But when we get into it, it is great, and I’m really enjoying it.’
Shona’s ‘Enders exit saw Whitney leave Albert Square on a bus with her adoptive daughter Britney Wainwright (Lola Campbell) and newborn baby Dolly, to start a new life up North with her brother.
Her decision to leave was sparked following fiancé Zack Hudson’s (James Farrar) one night stand with her best friend Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa), which was exposed on their wedding day.
To make matters worse, when Whitney found out that mother figure Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer) had known but didn’t tell her, Whitney chose to cut her out of her life altogether.
‘I’ve never felt such adrenaline before. If you make a mistake, you can’t go again, so you are constantly in flight or fight mode, but it’s a great feeling, and I enjoy the buzz. My ritual after each show is that I go to Spar, get a bag of nachos dip and go back to the hotel to wind down. I love it.’
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Source: Los Angeles Times (edited)
