Shona McGarty

Shona Bernadette McGarty (born 14 October 1991) is an English actress and singer born in Borehamwood in Hertfordshire, and is best known for the role of Whitney Dean in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.

Before joining EastEnders, she had been involved in amateur musical theatre for six years with a group named Traffic Lights, and later joined the drama school Young Stars where she played the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland and Glinda the Good Witch in Wizard of Oz. In July 2012, McGarty was suspended from EastEnders by the acting executive producer Lorraine Newman "for repeatedly being late for filming". McGarty performed the song "A Change is Gonna Come" on Children in Need 2012.

In 2009, McGarty was nominated for Best Newcomer at the British Soap Awards. A storyline involving McGarty as the main part was nominated for Best Single Episode as well as Best Storyline.

McGarty attended St. Teresa's Primary RC School in Borehamwood and Loreto College, St Albans. She was in a relationship with the former EastEnders actor Matt Lapinskas, until the couple separated in February 2013.