Shona McGarty will not switch on her “emotional” final episode of “EastEnders” during broadcast.

The 32-year-old actress, who first played Whitney Dean in the BBC soap in 2008, is leaving Albert Square after 16 years and her very last episode will air on Thursday (23.05.24).

In a video shared on Instagram, she said: “Hey guys.

“So this is a little message just to say that I’ve obviously been following Whitney’s journey this week and it’s obviously her last week, which has been very emotional to watch because I know it’s coming to an end.”

Unfortunately, she can’t tune in with everyone else because she’s rehearsing for her role in “2:22 A Ghost Story” this summer.

Her partner David Bracken has to travel back to Ireland for an appearance and Shona would rather wait until the weekend to watch the episode with her “whole family”.

She continued: “(He) has to fly back to Ireland because he has a gig. He’s a musician, of course, and that’s the point.”

“So I really want to watch my final episode, which airs tomorrow night… I really want to watch it with him and my whole family, just like I did my first episode.

“So I won’t watch my last episode until Saturday when David is home and I’m back home. So if I’m not really active on social media, it’s because I’m trying not to get distracted and watch it.”

The video was interrupted and in a follow-up post she admitted that she got “a little emotional” when talking about her departure.

She said: “I’m sorry. I got a little emotional, which is only natural. I mean, I’ve been there for 16 years.”

“It was really emotional and I just want to thank everybody who has ever supported Whitney. And even if you didn’t support Whitney and left me a hate comment… it’s still support.”

She reiterated that it was “her decision” to leave the soap and that she was grateful to her fans for it.

She added: “I just want to say thank you. Thank you for everything. And I won’t see my episode until Saturday, so here we go.”

“But thank you for everything. 16 years is a long time. It was a tough time delivering newspapers. I enjoyed every single minute of it.

“And who knows… the door is wide open and Whitney might come back one day in her high heels and really big earrings. I love you all very much.”