It’s been reported today that EastEnders star Shona McGarty, who of course plays troubled teen Whitney Dean, has told the show’s bosses that she wants to leave.

Shona is cited by the Daily Star as telling the producers of EastEnders that she wants to leave to “pursue a career in music” however, given that her real life boyfriend Matt Lapinskas – who plays Anthony Moon – has just been axed from the show, inevitably I’m wondering if Shona’s quit becaue she’s angry over his imminent departure from the soap.

However, Shona told the paper, “I love Motown music and singing has always been a passion of mine.

“It’s a real dilemma as I love acting but I also want to sing. I want to do something with music…

“It’s a risk but at least you can say you’ve done it. I really love EastEnders so it’s going to be hard to make the break.”

Shona added, “I look towards the likes of Kylie for inspiration. I do lots of karaoke and sing at family events like weddings.

“The family of my boyfriend Matt are like the Von Trapp family and are always singing and have loads of guitars.”

Meanwhile, speaking for the first time about being axed from the show, Matt told Digital Spy, “Although I will really miss EastEnders and everyone involved, I am very excited about future projects and what is next for me as an actor.”

As we reported yesterday, EastEnders bosses are planning a shake-up of the show in response to viewing figures hitting an all time low, so the news of Shona’s exit is one that’s likely to cause yet more chaos on-set, given that her character is one of the best loved by fans.