Whitney Dean
Whitney Dean is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Shona McGarty. The character is the ward of established character Bianca Jackson and was introduced on 1 April 2008 when Palmer returned to the series after a nine-year absence. Whitney is described by executive producer Diederick Santer as both an equal to, and younger version of Bianca, and is the oldest of Bianca's four children. Whitney was absent from the soap across four weeks in 2012 when McGarty was suspended for repeated lateness. McGarty took a short break in 2017 and Whitney departed on 29 May and returned on 31 July of that year. On 1 June 2018, McGarty filmed her 1,000th episode as Whitney. On 29 July 2023, it was announced that McGarty had resigned from her role after fifteen years, and Whitney departed from the soap on 23 May 2024.
From debut on the show, Whitney became known for often being involved in tragic storylines, including the fracturing of her family life; her sexual abuse by Bianca's fiancé Tony King ; her sexual exploitation by local pimp Rob Grayson ; her one-night stand with Joey Branning in the midst of being engaged to her first fiancé Tyler Moon ; her marriage with Lee Carter that ultimately breaks down as a result of his depression; Lee's infidelity with Abi Branning, which resulted in him passing chlamydia to Whitney and consequently led her to miscarry their unborn baby; her romantic crush on Lee's father Mick ; her wedding to Callum Highway that ends in disaster after she learns that he is having a romantic affair with Ben Mitchell ; being stalked by Tony's vengeful son Leo King, which soon culminates with Whitney stabbing and killing him in self-defence; accidentally running over her close friend Kat Slater and then fleeing the scene; being impregnated by Zack Hudson ; discovering that her baby has Edwards syndrome and omphalocele, which ultimately leads to her deciding to terminate her pregnancy; and illegally fostering Britney Wainwright.
The child sexual abuse storyline between Whitney and Tony marked the first time that the subject matter has been broached in a UK soap opera; the matter was researched and developed with advice and approval from the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. The inappropriate nature of Whitney's relationship with Tony resulted in over 200 complaints being made to the BBC and television regulatory body Ofcom by members of the public, and was described by the Daily Mirror Beth Neil as "one of the darkest and most disturbing storylines EastEnders has ever attempted". However, the NSPCC praised the storyline for "helping to raise awareness of the hidden nature of sexual abuse". The storyline also gained EastEnders a Royal Television Society Programme Award in 2009 in the Soap and Continuing Drama category.
Creation
In October 2007, it was announced that the character Bianca Jackson was returning to EastEnders after an absence of six years. Whitney was created as part of her new family; the daughter of Bianca's deceased partner Nathan Dean. She was described as "a teenage drama queen, unable to engage brain before mouth and constantly finding herself in and out of trouble". Bianca sees Whitney as one of her own, and also as "a friend and confidante". EastEnders' executive producer Diederick Santer said that his vision for the character was someone "quite spiky, quite gobby, a bit of an equal to Bianca, and in a way a version of Bianca at that age". Shona McGarty was cast in the role.Considering the character's role in the wider context of the show as a whole, it was decided that Whitney would be involved in a sexual relationship with Bianca's partner Tony King. BBC News described the plot as an ongoing "predatory paedophile storyline", noting that this was the first time this subject matter had been tackled by a UK soap opera. The storyline was conceived when EastEnders series consultant Simon Ashdown viewed a documentary about homelessness, featuring a mother and child at a bus stop with nowhere to go. Ashdown questioned what might happen if a paedophile were to befriend the mother in order to grow closer to the child, and related the scenario to Bianca's return to the soap. BBC Head of Drama John Yorke explained that the idea when presented "drew a sharp intake of breath. Most EastEnders stories that have been good and successful have been the ones that caused the sharp intake of breath, so they're always the kind of stories you look for."
The idea that McGarty play a child groomed for sex was put to the actress on 9 January 2008. Santer has stated that, had McGarty or her parents objected to the storyline, they would not have gone ahead with it. In the event, McGarty's parents merely requested that their daughter not be asked to publicise the role, and the actress began filming her first scenes on 14 January 2008.
McGarty filmed her 1000th episode as Whitney in June 2018, over ten years after she joined the soap. In 2020, Phoebe Farnham portrayed a younger version of the character in a hallucination experienced by Whitney.
Development
Sexual abuse
In order to develop Whitney's sexual abuse storyline, by March 2008 EastEnders researchers Libby Duplock and Cleo Bicat were in contact with the NSPCC's Tom Narducci, Jude Toasland, who deals with abused children, and Yvonne Traynor, CEO of the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre. Duplock has stated that: "One thing that was quite difficult for me to get right was the idea that she didn't want sex. It's Whitney's way of keeping Tony happy. If she lets him do it, then he's nicer to her and he makes her feel special." Research highlighted the fact that 12% of abused children go on to become abusers in turn, however Duplock explained: "We felt that to imply on TV that someone who has been abused is going to go on to abuse other people is not a message you want to give out. Those people have been through enough." Narducci for the NSPCC stated that importance was placed on making children viewing the show "feel comfortable about asking for help if they felt they needed it for the wider community – to recognise the signs and let them know that they can do something about it. We're not trying to cause a national panic. This is a responsible effort to try to get over an important story."It had initially been decided that, alongside Tony's sexual abuse, Whitney would be seen to self-harm. This aspect of the storyline was discarded, after the NSPCC suggested that it may distract from the main issue of her abuse. Final approval for the storyline was sought from BBC Head of Fiction Jane Tranter on 2 June 2008. Tranter explained:
Chris Coghill was cast as Whitney's abuser Tony on 20 June 2008. Upon accepting the role, he commented: "Shona doesn't act, or look, like a little child. Which helps." He has added of their off-screen relationship: "Shona's fantastic to work with. She's very natural, very instinctive and a natural actress. There isn't any uncomfortable feeling at all." Having undergone a thorough characterisation session, Coghill began shooting on 30 June 2008, and first appeared on-screen on 12 September 2008. Coghill has explained that Tony began grooming Whitney as soon as he met Bianca, ingratiating himself so as to become the family's "hero figure" and "saviour". Discussing his character's relationship with Whitney, Coghill explained that: "The lie that Tony has spun to Whitney is that as soon as she's 16 they'll run away together and start a new life. But Tony's the type of paedophile who preys on younger children. Whitney is beginning to pass her sell-by date with him. He feels like he's losing his little girl but needs to keep Whitney under his control and not speak out." Coghill stated that: "This is the most challenging role I have had to play. But I hope by EastEnders tackling the sensitive issue of child abuse it can raise awareness." When asked how she felt about the abuse storyline, Palmer commented: "It would be brilliant if it helped somebody. If one person out there who's been abused saw go out of their way to make it easier on the victim – Whitney's evidence is given by video link – it will be worth it."
Sexual exploitation
In January 2011, it was announced that Whitney would be part of an upcoming storyline on sexual exploitation. Whitney is left alone and vulnerable, and falls for a man, Rob Grayson, played by Jody Latham, who exploits her for financial gain. EastEnders worked alongside charity Comic Relief on the storyline, which started planning in 2010. The storyline culminated during Red Nose Day 2011 on 19 March 2011, in a special ten-minute episode. Gilly Green, Head of UK Grants at Comic Relief, said: "It is vital that we continue to alert young people to the dangers if we are to stop them being exploited and the opportunity to work with EastEnders will make a huge audience aware of this issue. We have been working with the EastEnders script writers and some of the young women from projects we support to ensure the story reflects the reality of young people caught up in sexual exploitation." Kevin Cahill, Chief Executive of Comic Relief, added "We have worked over many years with EastEnders in all kinds of ways. It's been a real pleasure this year to work together on a piece of serious drama, in the best traditions of public service, which will highlight an important issue and also, because it occurs on the night of Comic Relief, actually help raise crucial funds to help young women caught up in it." The storyline begins when Bianca is sent to prison and Whitney rejects her family, moving in with Janine and attempting to make money by stealing from The Queen Victoria, causing her to get sacked, working for Max, whom she tries to kiss as she has a crush on him, and pickpocketing. When she is caught, Rob rescues her from the situation and offers her what McGarty called a "dream life", which Whitney thinks is her chance to move up in the world as she feels lonely and has no friends.McGarty told Inside Soap that she hoped the storyline would have a positive impact, saying that she had done some research herself before filming, meeting teenage girls who had been exploited and hearing their experiences. She said she felt honoured and privileged to be given the storyline.