Enders' Shona applauds controversial plots (VIDEO)

EastEnders actress Shona McGarty says the soap's controversial plots make a difference.

The 19-year-old actress, who plays troubled teen Whitney Dean in the BBC1 soap, has been at the centre of some hard-hitting storylines that have seen her character being groomed by a paedophile and, more recently, put at risk of sexual exploitation by her boyfriend Rob, played by ex-Shameless actor Jody Latham.

Speaking on the red carpet at this year's British Soap Awards, where EastEnders was named Best Soap, Shona applauded these storylines and the recent 'baby swap' plot, saying: "EastEnders always deals with controversial storylines and they do it so well.

"I feel really honoured to be given such massive storylines. And when you get young girls writing to you saying 'Thanks for letting me see that this is what was happening', you see that EastEnders does make a difference."

CLICK below to watch an interview with Shona