Hollyoaks bosses have confirmed that Sarah Jayne Dunn will be departing the soap, saying they "respect her choice" to continue to producing OnlyFans content.

The actress who rose to fame playing Mandy Richardson on the Channel 4 soap from 1996 until 2011 wrote on instagram: "This is a decision I've thought long and hard about, not one I've taken lightly or on a whim. It's about taking back control, about empowerment and confidence and having full power over my choices."

"I'll undoubtedly be judged, some might find it shocking, but I'm simply moving my sexier, racier images to another platform. I'm not sure what's shocking about it, most likely a few trolls will crawl out from under their rocks, but I get that when I post these images on here anyway. It's nothing I haven't heard before, unfortunately they'll always be haters and people that want a reason to knock you down. I won't let them, this is about rising above and owning it."

In response, Hollyoaks said in a statement that it "is a youth-facing drama with many young viewers who follow our cast very closely, both in the soap and outside of it".

"We take our responsibility to our young audience very seriously and therefore the show does not allow any Hollyoaks cast members to be active on certain 18+ websites", they wrote adding that they tried to reach a resolution with Sarah but in vain.

Earlier this year Onlyfans sparked a backlash when it announced plans to ban sexually explicit photographs and videos on its platform. However, after numerous complaints from its content creators and sex workers, the platform made a U-turn and reversed the decision.