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Hollyoaks co-star made a formal complaint about my OnlyFans — I think I know who it is, says Sarah Jayne Dunn
Sarah claims the adult subscription site has improved all facets of her life
A LITTLE over two years ago many thought Sarah Jayne Dunn was making the biggest mistake of her acting career.
After more than two decades on Channel 4 series Hollyoaks, she was issued an ultimatum by furious soap bosses: quit adult subscription site OnlyFans, where she was flogging racy shots, or be axed.
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Sarah, 42, refused to close her account and now says it was the “best decision of her life” — revealing that other soap stars have messaged for guidance on how to follow in her footsteps.
In an exclusive chat with The Sun, Sarah — who played Mandy Richardson from 1996 to 2021 — said: “Lots of people have reached out for advice on doing what I have done.
“Lots of people are curious and lots of people want to know what it is and how it works.”
But the mother-of-one revealed uptight soap bosses have since changed actors’ contracts to ban them from launching their own lucrative OnlyFans accounts.
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Sarah said: “I know that what happened with all of the soaps is that [actors] had to all sign a new copy of the contract, saying that they wouldn’t do it, that they couldn’t do it.
I never doubted my decision once I made it — the complete opposite actually
“Everyone would have left if they didn’t.
“I think people are curious but people can’t take that step.
“There were a load of creators who also reached out to me, like Kerry Katona and [Love Islander] Megan Barton-Hanson when I joined the platform to say, ‘Well done and good on you for standing your ground’.
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“I never doubted my decision once I made it — the complete opposite actually.
“I’ve got fire in my belly.”
Sarah’s departure from Hollyoaks in 2021 was in part down to a mystery co-star who logged a formal complaint.
Hollyoaks’ Sarah Jayne Dunn shows off her incredible pole dancing skills in sports bra and shorts
She said: “Apparently there is one person who complained.
“I think I know who that is now, I have my suspicions for sure.
‘Can’t please everyone’
“It was like any workplace — you get on with most people, but there will be a couple that you don’t.
“You can’t please everybody and you’re not going to get on with everyone.
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“I think a lot of that boils down to their own insecurities and jealousies.”
Hollyoaks bosses argued the raunchy content on OnlyFans, which requires users to be 18 or over, didn’t align with the soap’s young audience.
But Sarah had been posting snaps in her underwear, similar to those she posed for in lads’ mags in the Nineties.
And up until 2011, Hollyoaks was cashing in on its sexy cast by releasing annual Hollyoaks Babes and Hunks calendars.
Sarah insists she would never venture into X-rated content and has the full support of her husband of six years, Jonathan Smith.
She said: “I am not doing anything different to what I used to be doing.
“When I first joined OnlyFans, me and my husband had a conversation about what my limitations and boundaries were.
“I know where I am at and I am happy with the content that I do.
“I always compare it to the lads’ mags of the Nineties and Noughties — Maxim and FHM.
“I feel really comfortable with that and I don’t feel the need to push that boundary any further.
“What I find is when I get new followers who are expecting more provocative content I am very straight with people and go, ‘I don’t do that’.
“It is actually really respectful — unlike on other platforms.”
It was a gamble when I first did it, for sure — I didn’t know if it was going to take off
Sarah Jayne Dunn
As well as sexy shots, Sarah stars in new OFTV (OnlyFans TV) series In Real Life, alongside the likes of Kate Moss’s little sister Lottie Moss and Atomic Kitten star Kerry Katona.
On her episode, Sarah said: “People know me as a character through my acting work, so taking part in the first UK series of In Real Life was a great opportunity to allow people to get to know me on a more personal level.
“It squashes the misconceptions that people who don’t understand OnlyFans have and shows how the platform has helped me to take back control of my content in a safe environment.”
At the turn of the Millennium, Hollyoaks was pulling in more than four million viewers per episode.
But it has struggled to maintain its once-loyal fan base and last year moved from Channel 4 to E4.
It also airs on YouTube in a bid to target the soap’s younger demographic.
While money was the biggest motivator for Sarah to leave Hollyoaks, she refuses to reveal how much she earns from OnlyFans.
But it is not hard to imagine she is teetering on becoming a millionaire after it was reported that she raked in £700,000 in the year after being axed from her £120,000 acting job.
Sarah said: “I don’t talk about figures as I never have, but it exceeded all expectations.
“I think my second month on the platform was better than a year on Hollyoaks.”
Sarah claims OnlyFans has improved all facets of her life.
She said: “It was the best decision I’ve ever made.
“I have worked since I was 14 and pretty much everything was controlled: my schedule, my pay, when I could take holidays.
“So to be able to take control and have that freedom and freedom of speech and the freedom of finance — I’ve never had that before and that is life-changing.
“It was a gamble when I first did it, for sure — I didn’t know if it was going to take off.
“Every part of my life is better.”
‘It feels safe’
Simply messaging subscribed fans “Good Morning” can result in a sudden influx of money.
She explained: “It has given me financial freedom and it’s given on my terms. I am the one setting the costs, the subscription fee.
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“I also send out messages that are locked that have a fee on them.
“It’s all in my control.
“Sometimes people just send me tips as they like the picture, OnlyFans is a wonderful world of people.
“People will send you tips for nothing.
“Just because they like you.
“Just because you’ve sent them a message saying, ‘good morning’.
“I do live streams where I talk to all of my followers and you get tips just while I’m enjoying a glass of wine. It’s great.
“I am getting to connect with my fans and also feel safe.”
Insisting she has no plans to ditch OnlyFans for a return to acting any time soon, Sarah said: “Leaving was a whirlwind, I didn’t expect things to pan out the way they did, but it has panned out really positively.
“I have had a ton of support.
“I think where I was at wasn’t specifically just to do with the show — it was on the back of Covid and lockdown.
“I was really trying to find my place and where I was happy and I knew I wasn’t happy.
“From finding my feet on the platform and having the life I have now and the freedom and the time with my family and being able to go on holiday when I want and to work my own schedule — that has changed me and my outlook on life.
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“I have my own voice and I’m not being filtered in any way or not being able to say something as it doesn’t go with what the channel thinks.
“It’s nice to be able to go, ‘Actually this is me and this is what I think’ — and if it I want to say ‘f***’, I can.”
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