HOLLYOAKS viewers were left unimpressed when Mandy Richardson’s exit was aired on Friday after actress Sarah Jayne Dunn was axed.
Sarah, 40, was sacked from her £120k-a-year role on the Channel 4 soap in November after refusing to quit posting sexy snaps on subscription website OnlyFans.
During Friday’s episode it was finally revealed that Mandy was leaving the village for good – with an off-screen exit.
Viewers saw Cindy Cunningham (Stephanie Waring) and Zara Morgan (Kelly Greenwood) tell Mandy’s daughter Ella (Erin Palmer) that her mum had moved to America to start a new job.
Cindy said: “She didn’t want to tell anyone in case we’d change her mind. She just hopes that you can forgive her and when we go and visit, she’ll pay for the flights and a five-star hotel.”
But fans were far from impressed with the underwhelming exit for Mandy, who has been in the show on and off since 1996.
One wrote: “That was a s*** exit for Mandy!!!! @sarahjaynedunn deserved better.”
Another said: “Did Hollyoaks really give Mandy’s exit by some lame letter after 25 years? Sorry but Mandy would never leave Ella behind like that ever, S*** EXIT AND DISGUSTING! I’m no longer watching it.”
And a third raged: “The way they’ve written out Mandy is stupidly laughable. This show really doesn’t do itself justice a lot of the time.”
After refusing to quit OnlyFans despite the threat of losing her six figure salaried job on the Channel 4 soap, Sarah left the show in a dispute.
She clashed with bosses over her decision to join the controversial 18+ network, where she claimed she was “taking back control” after previously posing for lads mags earlier in her career.
Admitting some fans would “find it shocking,” she explained: “I’m simply moving my sexier, racier images to another platform.
“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 love doing photo shoots, always have always will, it’s how I got into the acting industry, at the tender age of 12 I decided I wanted to be a model and enrolled on a modelling course, joined an agency and had my first professional shoot and I was hooked. I got my first TV audition and the rest is history.
“I’ve been lucky enough to travel to some pretty amazing places for photoshoots since being 17, that being said I’ve never felt in control, of the content or of the finances.”
