Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty)

[walsh2509]

Seen a post of a pic somewhere of Whit jumping from a bedroom window to get away, looked a big enough drop to do damage.

[alan45]

A hard-hitting EastEnders storyline inspired a girl to tell police that she had been the victim of sexual abuse, a court has heard.

At Peterborough Crown Court yesterday, Marcus Matsumoto-Quincey, 39, stood accused of grooming the girl in question by offering her lifts home from school when she was 13 or 14.

The Mirror reports that Matsumoto-Quincey faces an allegation of having sex with the teenager at a B&B in 2004 after lying to staff that they were father and daughter.

The girl is said to have denied that they had sex when her parents became aware of the alleged relationship in 2005, but later spoke to police after watching Whitney Dean's (Shona McGarty) sexual abuse storyline in 2008.

Prosecutor Simon Thomas told the court: "There was a storyline about abuse on EastEnders at the end of 2008 and she told her parents. There was an 18-year age gap between them and the prosecution says the defendant exploited the age gap."

Matsumoto-Quincey has denied the allegations and the trial continues.

[Siobhan]

It is always good to hear stuff like this.. making a difference, even to one person is worth it especially in cases like this

[tammyy2j]

So what happens the kids and Whitney if Ricky is also leaving?

[Perdita]

EastEnders star Jody Latham has insisted that fans will get used to his northern accent.

The actor, who plays Rob Grayson in the BBC One soap, has received criticism for his Burnley accent after fans struggled to understand him.

According to The People, one viewer said on Twitter: "He is TOO northern. I wish he'd tone it down."

Latham, who also played Lip Gallagher in Channel 4's Shameless, said: "I'm sorry people are having *difficulty with my accent. I'm sure the great fans of EastEnders will get used to it!"

He joined the show last month as part of Whitney Dean's (Shona McGarty) sex exploitation storyline.

DS

[Perdita]

EastEnders star Shona McGarty has revealed that she met four victims of sexual exploitation to prepare for her current storyline.

The actress plays Whitney Dean in the soap, who is groomed by pimp Rob Grayson (Jody Latham). McGarty admitted that it was shocking to hear details of real-life cases.

"They all came down to the studio and we just sat together and talked for hours," she told the Sunday Mirror. "It's *absolutely shocking that this actually happens to girls of such a young age. The youngest one I met was only 13. It stunned me how easy it was for these young girls to be manipulated.

"What shocked me was how lovely and normal these girls were. They could have been the kind of girls I hang around with. I knew it would be upsetting to meet these girls, but I needed to fully understand what they'd gone through. It's such an important subject and not enough parents with young daughters and even sons know about it."

She continued: "This is going to be a continuing *storyline - it's not just going to be brushed under the carpet. Whitney will live in fear that Rob and his gang are going to come after her when she escapes. That's what these people do. They don't just leave you to get on with your life. In their mind they own you."

McGarty added that she would like the plot to raise awareness and lead to proper sentences for people who exploit youngsters because the current conviction rate "isn't good enough".

DS

[owenlee4me]

Miserable teenagers especially Lauren and Whit
LET'S HOPE I CAN PUT MY OPINION HERE?????

I am at a loss why anyone is even bothered bout Whit coming back, i mean there is nothing remotely interesting about her, infact let Lauren find her and then they can both disappear together. Coz she is another miserable moany sulky stroppy teenager.

i know that probably 75% of teenagers are huffy stroppy miserys with mega attitude, but do we have to keep having it shoved in our faces, and maybe not every teen is a pain in the butt, there just in Enders, give me Tiff and Liam any day!

[owenlee4me]

maybe teens feel they have to do what they do in awful situ's but for it to be shown on peak tv?, which may give kids ideas rather than it be shocking, and scary?

maybe a more informative line should be taken in this story, showing how they can be helped and made aware long before they become stroppy teens and noone really caring about them.
is it any wonder it was 2 weeks before whit was missed, think i would have been glad to have her away for 2 weeks!

My friend had an awful experience whilst a kid, she was (and still is) a wonderful lovely girl, no one know what she went through, she never even thought about running away, why, coz she was not aware of it, so just endured her situation tried to trust her friends then someone was kind enough to notice that she was not happy etc
not all troubled kids are *******,

[Siobhan]

Owenleeme - the point of this week EE was to highlight sex exploitation and the situation trouble teens/girls do get themselves into. Choosing Whitney was the perfect case as she was in a place where she was getting crap from all sides and felt she had nothing left. She meets a "nice" man who manipulates her into thinking what she is doing is for the good of both of them. EE did a lot of research into this and they were asked to highlight this as part of red nose week.
Teens go missing and are not missed cause people think they are just having a strop... Janine had a major part to play in this as she told everyone Whitney was with her brother so they gave her space to cool down, so to speak... if they had known earlier that she was not with Ryan...something would have been done about it.. You have to remember that Janine told her family that Whitney was still angry and needed time and space while at the same time telling Whitney that her family didn't want her around.

Put yourself in that situation.. your boyfriend was sleeping with your gran, your mum was taken to jail (step mum so Whitney doesn't even feel like she should stay as she is not really family) and your friend accusing you of sleeping with her dad, your flatmate tells you to get money or get out and along comes a "savour" offering you a place to stay rent free, a shoulder to cry on and "love"...

[owenlee4me]

SIOBHAN
yes i do watch it and know the story,
my point is, perhaps not quite so long winded,
that there are other teens who are not stroppy and are missed, but the worry is, showing YOU CAN ALWAYS RUN AWAY is not the answer.
awareness is needed big time long before they become pains in the butt,