Sarah Jayne Dunn has spoken out after being axed from Hollyoaks.
The actress, who is best known to viewers for playing Mandy Richardson, has been dropped from the Channel 4 soap after opening an OnlyFans account.
Sarah, 40, played the role from 1996 until 2011 and returned to the role in 2017.
She set up a profile on the adult site last month and said it was "about taking back control, about empowerment and confidence and having full power over my choices."
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But it was revealed on Wednesday night that she had left the show after being unable to 'reach a resolution' with bosses.
Hollyoaks said cast members are not allowed "to be active on certain 18+ websites" and confirmed Sarah was departing the soap.
In an interview with The Sun newspaper, the star said she was "disappointed" by the outcome but "I feel like I had to take a stand".
She said: "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.
"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.
"And I thought long and hard about the decision to join the site and had a number of conversations with my husband about it."
She added: "The idea that it’s just pornography is a total misconception, it’s not the case at all."
Sarah said about her decision last week: "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.
"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.
"I’ve done men’s mag upon men’s mag and calendar upon calendar, I’ve enjoyed every shoot but never felt like I had much say in them.
"I’ve been pitted against other girls and felt deflated if not chosen for a shoot or for a cover, I’ve been airbrushed, retouched and ‘enhanced’ without consent and without necessity and I’ve not always been given photo or copy (the wording of an interview) approval, leaving both my image and words distorted.
"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."
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