Sarah Jayne Dunn will reportedly be seen on screen in Hollyoaks until some point in 2022 following her controversial sacking earlier this week.

The 40-year-old was dropped from her role as Mandy Richardson - a part she has played on and off since 1996 - after she refused to delete her recently-launched account on the adults-only website OnlyFans.

Channel 4 defended the decision by arguing that her OnlyFans work does not sit easily alongside the soap's youthful demographic, but the move drew much criticism from her industry colleagues and fans.

Talking to The Sun, a show source said: "Because scenes are filmed so far ahead, Mandy actually won't disappear from screens until early 2022.

"It's a race to write her out of the show now, and there are a lot of decisions to be made around her exit. Things are really up in the air as it's all so sudden."

Hollyoaks is thought to be filmed around three months in advance, meaning that episodes shot recently will not likely be broadcast until late January or early February 2022.

Meanwhile, it is still unknown whether Dunn will film an exit storyline - albeit a brief one - or just be written out off-screen.