Sarah Jayne Dunn has been an actress for two decades, but she was given a tough ultimatum by soap bosses when she joined OnlyFans – they demanded she choose between them.
To everyone’s surprise, Sarah chose to keep posting raunchy content online and terminate her role as Hollyoaks character Mandy Richardson, who she had played on and off since 1996.
Three years later, Sarah, 42, has no regrets over her decision. “My husband [Jonathan Smith], has noticed the biggest difference in me,” reveals Sarah. “We live together so he sees every array of emotion. He knew I wasn’t happy towards the end of doing the show. But now we get to spend time together and I earn a really good income. He said in an interview once, ‘Why would I have anything against this when Sarah’s happier?’”
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1583506613/1708409095/articles/yQJiLGpjk1708420194227/0410180114.jpg]
“I didn’t leave acting, that was never my intention,” she insists. “The whole point of joining OnlyFans and moving over to that platform is because I was already shooting my content and putting it up on Instagram.
“But with OnlyFans, you’ve got the copyright and it’s protected, so it made sense. Nothing has really changed apart from the amount of content I get to create now.”
Hollyoaks fans were distraught about her leaving the show after almost 20 years, but Sarah was surprised at the support she received.
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1583506613/1708409095/articles/yQJiLGpjk1708420194227/0100580111.jpg]
“I never anticipated such a big reaction from the media, and I was thrown into that without any warning,” says Sarah. “It was a whirlwind for a good couple of months, but luckily, it was all very positive. I had good support from lots of other women and that’s what inspired me.”
With OnlyFans being an over-18s only site, where the overwhelming majority of content is pornography, there is a view that the platform has nothing more to offer. However, Sarah insists there is tamer content viewers can buy too.
“The biggest misconception about OnlyFans is that it’s just porn,” says Sarah. “And I had that misconception before I looked into the platform too.
“Now, I’m in a really nice position of being able to quash that and help explain what the platform is. There’s lifestyle, comedy, sports, music – it’s a content creator’s dream.”
“I like to connect with my fans,” continues Sarah as she talks about her own content. “I always compare it to the lad mags of the 90s because that’s my fan base. I’ve got guys and girls in their forties who watched Hollyoaks growing up – they know me from back then, so I try to stick to that genre.”
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1583506613/1708409095/articles/yQJiLGpjk1708420194227/5070110517.jpg]
In an attempt to br...
To everyone’s surprise, Sarah chose to keep posting raunchy content online and terminate her role as Hollyoaks character Mandy Richardson, who she had played on and off since 1996.
Three years later, Sarah, 42, has no regrets over her decision. “My husband [Jonathan Smith], has noticed the biggest difference in me,” reveals Sarah. “We live together so he sees every array of emotion. He knew I wasn’t happy towards the end of doing the show. But now we get to spend time together and I earn a really good income. He said in an interview once, ‘Why would I have anything against this when Sarah’s happier?’”
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1583506613/1708409095/articles/yQJiLGpjk1708420194227/0410180114.jpg]
“I didn’t leave acting, that was never my intention,” she insists. “The whole point of joining OnlyFans and moving over to that platform is because I was already shooting my content and putting it up on Instagram.
“But with OnlyFans, you’ve got the copyright and it’s protected, so it made sense. Nothing has really changed apart from the amount of content I get to create now.”
Hollyoaks fans were distraught about her leaving the show after almost 20 years, but Sarah was surprised at the support she received.
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1583506613/1708409095/articles/yQJiLGpjk1708420194227/0100580111.jpg]
“I never anticipated such a big reaction from the media, and I was thrown into that without any warning,” says Sarah. “It was a whirlwind for a good couple of months, but luckily, it was all very positive. I had good support from lots of other women and that’s what inspired me.”
With OnlyFans being an over-18s only site, where the overwhelming majority of content is pornography, there is a view that the platform has nothing more to offer. However, Sarah insists there is tamer content viewers can buy too.
“The biggest misconception about OnlyFans is that it’s just porn,” says Sarah. “And I had that misconception before I looked into the platform too.
“Now, I’m in a really nice position of being able to quash that and help explain what the platform is. There’s lifestyle, comedy, sports, music – it’s a content creator’s dream.”
“I like to connect with my fans,” continues Sarah as she talks about her own content. “I always compare it to the lad mags of the 90s because that’s my fan base. I’ve got guys and girls in their forties who watched Hollyoaks growing up – they know me from back then, so I try to stick to that genre.”
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1583506613/1708409095/articles/yQJiLGpjk1708420194227/5070110517.jpg]
In an attempt to br...
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