EastEnders' Shona McGarty teases Whitney's final weeks: "Drama, deceit and chaos"

There, they meet two children, Britney and Taylor, who have troubled lives and, as a result, become implicated in Whitney's life.

McGarty has opened up about the episodes to press including RadioTimes.com, explaining what it was like working with Palmer again, and why it's a week of deceit for Whit.

This week, Whitney visits Bianca in Milton Keynes following her split with Terry. How has it been working with Patsy Palmer again?

“It’s like I’ve gone back in time. I feel sixteen again. It’s been really nice working with Patsy, she hasn’t changed a bit! She’s got that LA, Malibu glow about her and she’s bought that to EastEnders. Those episodes are going to give the audience a reminder of Whitney and Bianca’s relationship.”

How did you react when you found out she would be coming back?

“Well, Patsy texted me and said ‘Guess who’s coming back’ and I screamed and I said to my mum, ‘oh my God, oh my God, I think Patsy’s coming back to EastEnders’. We were both really excited and couldn’t wait to start.”

The first episode of this week follows a slightly different format, doesn’t it?

“The first episode is going to cover five weeks of storyline, as we see what’s happened to Whitney while she’s been away from the Square.”

Bianca is ecstatic about Whitney’s pregnancy but she makes it clear she doesn’t want Sonia to know. Why is this?

“Whitney doesn’t want Sonia to know about the pregnancy because when Sonia unfortunately had a negative pregnancy test at the start of the year, Whitney was pregnant at that time and didn’t tell her.

"Sonia is so desperate for a baby and Whitney feels incredibly guilty about getting pregnant naturally while Sonia is going through IVF. She just wants Sonia to be happy and she feels really guilty.”

Not long after her arrival in Milton Keynes, Whitney becomes worried about a girl from Bianca’s estate called Britney. Can you explain what happens?

“Britney is a young girl who lives on Bianca’s estate with her mum Keeley. Keeley hasn’t been looking after her at all and Whitney feels incredibly sorry for her. She tries to help her, and wants to take her under her wing. Britney reminds Whitney of herself at that age.”

Whitney decides to intervene by reaching out to Britney’s school. What does she discover?

“Whitney finds out that Britney’s mum Keeley has been sent so many letters [about Britney’s attendance] and that Britney hasn’t actually gone to school for a long time, so Whitney is quite angry about that and wants to help.”

Whitney reasons enough is enough and has showdown with Britney’s mum Keeley, but this leads to chaos as Whitney is hit by a car when chasing Britney. What happens?

“Keeley, Whitney, Bianca, Zack and Sonia all go head-to-head, but Britney gets caught in the middle of it and ends up running away. Whitney runs after Britney because she wants to look after her and make sure she’s safe, and Britney and Whitney have a heart-to-heart but it all ends in tears. It’s chaos.”

How was it filming the stunt scenes?

“It’s my favourite thing to do. I just absolutely love doing stunts. All the stunt guys and women on this show always try and pull me back a little bit because I’m always saying ‘can’t I just do that’ as I’m desperate to do stunts when it’s safe for me to do them. It was really fun.”

Thankfully, Whitney regains consciousness and the baby is fine, but she arrives back to Milton Keynes to discover Britney’s parents have been arrested. What does she decide?

“Britney’s got no one to look after her now, so Whitney thinks ‘it must be me, I’ll look after her’. Zack calls the social services and Whitney asks the social workers to let her look after Britney temporarily as she is a foster carer.”

Zack heads back to Walford without Whitney. Do you think there are cracks starting to show in their relationship?

“Definitely. Zack is so annoyed with Whitney. Obviously Zack was fostered so he has an understanding, but he’s just so concerned about this baby that he goes back to the Square without Whitney and Whitney makes Britney her main priority instead of Zack, which is quite sad.”

Can you give us three words to tease what’s to come for Whitney in the coming weeks?

“Drama, deceit and chaos.”

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EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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