An EastEnders icon congratulated former star Shona McGarty (Whitney Dean) on her brand new role away from Albert Square.

Whitney left Albert Square on a bus with Britney Wainwright (Lola Campbell) and baby Dolly, to start a new life in Wakefield with brother Ryan Malloy.

Her decision to leave came after fiancé Zack Hudson’s (James Farrar) one night stand with Whitney’s best friend Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa) was finally exposed – on their wedding day,

no less.

To make matters worse, when Whitney found out that mother figure Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer) had known but didn’t tell her, Whitney chose to cut her out of her life altogether.

At the beginning of the month, Shona made her debut in the theatre show 2:22: A Ghost Story, where she plays the role of Jenny.

In her recent Instagram post, the 32-year-old shared a photo of her alongside cast members Laura Whitmore and Jay McGuiness.

‘@222aghoststory Gala Night! We are officially OPEN! 👻 What a fantastic night. What a wonderful team!’ she penned.

‘Book your tickets now! @3olympiatheatre Running till 11th August. Can’t wait to see you there! (If you dare!).’

Shona’s post was met with support from EastEnders legend Natalie Cassidy, who plays Sonia Fowler on the soap.

‘So proud of you,’ she commented under the post.

This comes after Shona defended defended her exit Walford scenes, revealing that they were true to her character.

‘I think she did get her happy ending,’ Shona told RSVP Live. ‘It makes sense the way she left on the bus, the way she came in. It was very fitting and quite nice, actually.’

‘At least she wasn’t under the bus!’ She added. ‘She could always come back.’

Leaving the show after 16 years was a huge decision, but Shona revealed that she is excited for what the future holds.

‘It feels great actually. I feel really free and excited for the future. I just had to be brave and make that decision. I had been toying with the idea for the last two or three years. The only reason is that I want to do different things.

‘Time flies in life – I had been in EastEnders 16 years, I gave it a good go.’