Early work and EastEnders McGarty was involved in amateur musical theatre for six years, including a role in
Wizard of Oz. In 2007, she appeared in the short film
What Goes Around. In October 2007, following the announcement that established character
Bianca Jackson (
Patsy Palmer) was returning to
EastEnders, McGarty was confirmed to be joining the soap as
Whitney Dean; the daughter of Bianca's deceased partner Nathan Dean. McGarty began filming in January 2008, and made her first appearance as Whitney on 1 April. Early into her tenure, the character of Whitney was involved in a sexual abuse storyline in which she was groomed by Bianca's partner Tony King. McGarty who was 16 at the time, required her parents to give permission for the storyline to go ahead. In July 2012, McGarty was suspended from
EastEnders by the acting executive producer
Lorraine Newman "for repeatedly being late for filming". McGarty later regretted her behaviour as "lazy and irresponsible". The same year, McGarty performed the song
A Change is Gonna Come for
Children in Need 2012. McGarty's other storylines included being sexually exploited by
Rob Grayson (
Jody Latham), her marriage to
Lee Carter (
Danny-Boy Hatchard) and subsequent miscarriage, being stalked by
Leo King (Tom Wells) which leads to her killing him in self-defence, and being impregnated by
Zack Hudson (
James Farrar), before discovering the baby has
Edwards syndrome and
omphalocele, which ultimately leads to her to terminating the pregnancy. In July 2023, McGarty announced her departure from
EastEnders after fifteen years. In an interview with
The Sun, McGarty said she "had decided to spread [her] wings and [would] be leaving
EastEnders, whilst adding that she had "loved [her] years in the show." Her final scenes aired in 2024, following the end of her contract.
Music and other ventures in June 2016 In 2018, McGarty joined 26 other celebrities and performed an original Christmas song, "
Rock With Rudolph", a song written and produced by Grahame and Jack Corbyn. The song was recorded in aid of
Great Ormond Street Hospital and was released digitally on independent record label
Saga Entertainment on 30 November 2018 under the artist name
the Celebs. The music video debuted with
The Sun on 29 November 2018 and had its first TV showing on
Good Morning Britain on 30 November 2018. In 2021, McGarty reunited with Saga Entertainment to record a cover of
the Beatles song "
Let It Be", recorded at Metropolis Studios, in support of British charity
Mind and released on 3 December 2021. McGarty was backed by a choir of celebrities including
Georgia Hirst,
Anne Hegerty,
Ivan Kaye and
Eunice Olumide, who performed as part of the 2021 line up of the Celebs. In October 2025, McGarty released a single "Unapologetically Me". The following month, she became a contestant on the
twenty-fifth series of ''
I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!''. On 7 December 2025 she was eliminated from the show, finishing in third place behind runner-up
Tom Read Wilson and winner
Angryginge. On 31 December 2025, McGarty performed with Irish singer
Ronan Keating on his
BBC One New Year's Eve programme, ''Ronan Keating and Friends: A New Year's Eve Party'' ==Personal life==