Former Hollyoaks star Sarah Jayne Dunn has criticised internet trolls who attacked her after she joined a popular adult content platform, which led to her exit from the soap. The 44-year-old actress said women should not be shamed for feeling sexy after having children.
Dunn launched her subscription page five years ago, sharing photos in lingerie. The move sparked a dispute with Channel 4's Hollyoaks, where she played Mandy Richardson on and off for 25 years. Producers reportedly gave her an ultimatum in late 2021 to delete the account, arguing the platform clashed with the show's younger audience.
Blatant hypocrisy claim
Dunn refused and was subsequently sacked. She has since described the decision as “blatant hypocrisy”, pointing out that Hollyoaks had spent decades cashing in on official cast calendars featuring stars in bikinis and lingerie.
Dunn has revealed she still faces nasty comments online, with much of it aimed at her as a parent. She told the Daily Mail: “To be honest, it was mainly positive. Still is… there are trolls. I’ve actually called a couple of men out today because it’s just, they have something to say about anything. You can’t do right, you can’t do wrong.”
Motherhood criticism
Dunn added: “So I feel like if you live in that box where you’re forever worried about what people are going to think or what people are going to say, you will never do anything and you will forever stay small.”
She said: “One of the biggest things I got was ‘oh you’re a mum’ and that really irks me… once you get married or you have kids or you turn a certain age that you’re no longer valid… and actually that’s just bull c**p.”
Dunn, who shares 10-year-old son Stanley with husband Jonathan, said: “So I’m really like why shouldn’t I? I can be a mum and an amazing mum and I can still be me and… feel sexy and wear what I wanna wear.”
Family support and earnings
She also said she wants her son to see her “standing her ground”. “I think it’s really important for my son, especially being a son, to see a strong, independent woman and for him to see his mom being a bad**s,” she said.
Dunn added that Jonathan has backed her decision, saying the big change is that she now has control and freedom. She said it has even helped her family life, adding she can do the school run and attend parents’ evenings.
Since leaving the soap, Dunn has reportedly earned around £1.5 million on adult content - said to be more than she made across her entire 20-plus-year TV career. She is now set to appear on OFTV’s quiz show Race Of Wits.
