Sarah Jayne Dunn has revealed she was rejected by OnlyFans twice when trying to set up her account to sell racy snaps.
The actress, 40, who was recently sacked from her £120k-a-year job on Hollyoaks after she refused to leave the 18+ platform, told how she found it difficult to set up an account.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Women’s Hour, she said: ‘I found the platform really difficult to set up my own account.
Turned down: Sarah Jayne Dunn has revealed she was rejected by OnlyFans twice when trying to set up her account to sell racy snaps
‘You’ve got to provide ID, there’s facial recognition – and even then I was rejected the first couple of times.’
Sarah Jayne said she had difficulty creating her account because of safety measures designed designed to stop underage kids from accessing graphic content.
The soap star insisted her posts on the website are ‘exactly the same type of content’ she would share on Twitter or Instagram.
She said: ‘All I’ve done is move the lingerie and bikini shoots that I have done all my career, I’ve just moved those images onto a subscription platform now.’
Rejected: The actress, 40, who was recently sacked from her £120k-a-year job on Hollyoaks after she refused to leave the 18+ platform, told how she found it difficult to set up an account
She added that she wasn’t aware the account could cause trouble for her with Hollyoaks bosses, adding: ‘All I’ve done is move my content from one platform to another.’
Sarah said 75 per cent of her 214,000 followers on Instagram are women.
She added: ‘Actually, I get tonnes of support from women when I do put images up in bikinis because people are motivated, people are inspired.
‘I train hard, I’m really into my fitness and healthy eating and women supporting women.’
Sarah has slammed Hollyoaks bosses for cutting ties with her, saying: ‘I do feel judged, definitely.
‘And I feel disappointed. I feel like I’ve been reprimanded for something I’ve been contractually bound to do, by the show, for most of my career.
Sarah Jayne said: ‘You’ve got to provide ID, there’s facial recognition – and even then I was rejected the first couple of times’
‘I’m actually not doing anything different to what I’ve been doing for as long as Instagram has been a thing.’
On Thursday, Sarah hit back at the Hollyoaks bosses who sacked her after cutting ties with the programme by unfollowing the Hollyoaks Instagram account.
She told The Sun: ‘The pictures I’ve put on OnlyFans are no more explicit than the sort of things I’ve done in the past for magazines and even for Hollyoaks’ own official calendar.’
She continued: ‘For me this is about having the right as a woman of 40 years old to decide what is right for me.
‘I love photoshoots and I’ve worked hard for my figure. I don’t make a secret of the fact that I get a big boost out of it, and I’m not apologetic for that.’
Sarah expressed sadness that her relationship with the soap had deteriorated and emphasised she would miss the cast and crew but maintained she had to retaliate.
Racy: She added that she wasn’t aware the account could cause trouble for her with Hollyoaks bosses, adding: ‘All I’ve done is move my content from one platform to another’
MailOnline contacted Hollyoaks representatives for comment at the time.
Sarah has played the role of Mandy Richardson on-off on Hollyoaks since 1996.
The actress, – who reportedly earned a whopping £7,200 in just a week after joining the X-rated subscription service – will no longer appear on the show after discussions with producers.
In a statement a Hollyoaks representative told The Sun: ‘Hollyoaks is a youth-facing drama with many young viewers, who follow our cast very closely, both in the soap and outside of it.
‘We take our responsibility to our young audience very seriously and therefore the show does not allow any Hollyoaks cast members to be active on certain 18+ websites.
‘We had hoped we could reach a resolution with Sarah that would allow her to remain in her role as Mandy, but we respect her choice to continue to produce content on OnlyFans.
Sarah Jayne added: ‘Actually, I get tonnes of support from women when I do put images up in bikinis because people are motivated, people are inspired’
‘In the past four years since her return to the show her legacy character has been an integral part of some our most important storylines and we will be very sad to see her go.’
It comes as Sarah admitted to The Sun that Hollyoaks isn’t as well paid as people expect, saying: ‘There’s a huge misconception that people on TV shows earn huge amounts of money, it just isn’t the case.
‘People talk about massive six-figure salaries but the reality is that if your character isn’t in a big storyline for a while you can end up struggling some months.
‘I’ve definitely experienced that myself. There are periods I haven’t known how I was going to get through the next month.’
The mum-of-one revealed last Saturday that she’d joined OnlyFans and shared a lengthy Instagram post telling how she feels ’empowered and confident’ taking photos for the racy site.
The actress also shared a link to the website with her 184K followers saying: ‘Welcome to the new home for all my racier content, I hope you enjoy. Let me know what you’d like to see most.’
Hurt: Sarah has slammed Hollyoaks bosses for cutting ties with her, saying: ‘I do feel judged, definitely (pictured in October 2021)
Sarah went on to explain her reasoning behind joining the platform, saying: ‘This is a decision I’ve thought long and hard about, not one I’ve taken lightly or on a whim, it’s about taking back control, about empowerment and confidence and having full power over my choices.
‘I love doing photo shoots, always have always will, it’s how I got into the acting industry, at the tender age of 12 I decided I wanted to be a model and enrolled on a modelling course, joined an agency and had my first professional shoot and I was hooked. I got my first tv audition and the rest is history.’
She went on to explain she is taking back control after years of doing lads mags and she wants to put ‘healthy boundaries in place.’
‘I’ve been lucky enough to travel to some pretty amazing places for photoshoots since being 17, that being said I’ve never felt in control of the content or of the finances,’ she said.
‘The older I get the more cathartic it is to take back control, to put healthy boundaries in place and to know my worth and my value. That’s what this is about, being in control, choosing empowerment. I feel sexy and strong and confident when I shoot images like this.’
The actor added that she understood the images weren’t for everyone, which is why she is now putting them on OnlyFans.
She said: I feel disappointed. I feel like I’ve been reprimanded for something I’ve been contractually bound to do, by the show, for most of my career’
She admitted: ‘I’ll undoubtedly be judged, some might find it shocking, but I’m simply moving my sexier, racier images to another platform, I’m not sure what’s shocking about it.’
Many stars have decided to join the platform to share their sizzling snaps including Kate Moss’ younger sister Lottie Moss, who has earned herself a lucrative fanbase after signing up to the service.
Speaking to close friend Jaime Laing’s Private Parts podcast about her OnlyFans platform earlier this year, she said: ‘You can make upwards of like $100,000 a month if you’re doing it regularly and have followers.’
Former Atomic Kitten star Kerry Katona also joined OnlyFans and revealed that she managed to turn her financial difficulties around, managing to earn £1million since being declared bankrupt in 2008 thanks to the site.
Wow! Many stars have decided to join the platform to share their sizzling snaps including Kate Moss’ younger sister Lottie Moss
Speaking to the Mirror, the star said she is now earning as much as ‘tens of thousands a month’ by sharing sultry snaps and images of her feet.
She told the publication: ‘People are quick to say, ‘she’s desperate’ if I get out a bit of nipple, but I’ve made my first million since bankruptcy and I’m so, so proud.
‘If it wasn’t for OnlyFans I wouldn’t have had money to invest in myself and in making more companies.’
Since starting her account, Kerry has been able to open her very own online clothing company, KerryBoutique, as well as a dating app with her fiancé Ryan Mahoney.
She has also been able to send her son Dylan-Jorge to a private school thanks to her financial stability.
Work it! Former Atomic Kitten star Kerry Katona also joined OnlyFans and has revealed that she managed to turn her financial difficulties around