She found fame as trumpet-blowing Sonia Jackson in EastEnders, and over the past three decades, Natalie Cassidy has become a fan favourite. Whether she’s singing her heart out as Bush on The Masked Singer, running the London Marathon in memory of her late co-star Barbara Windsor or opening up about her weight struggles, the 41-year-old actress is one of the country’s best-loved stars.
After leaving the soap where she made her name, Nat’s looking forward to spending more time with cameraman fiancé Marc Humphreys – who she’s been with since 2014 – and her daughters Joanie, eight, and Eliza, 14, whose dad is her ex Adam Cottrell.
We catch up with her to talk sleep, slippers and her new consumer show testing the latest must-have products…
You’re one of our biggest soap icons, what’s your secret to success?
Sleep! I think we underestimate it. It’s a shame we don’t have siestas in this country, we should introduce them to help us get more sleep.
Are you good at managing the juggle of home and work life?
It’s hard. You feel guilty about not spending more time at home but you need to take the opportunities when they come along to earn money.
That's not easy…
You have to accept that not every bit of your life can be perfect all the time. Any time I do have off, I’m at home with Marc and the kids. I’ve only got a handful of friends: real friends who know they will see me when I am less busy and won’t get grumpy and make comments at not having seen me in a while!
We couldn’t believe that you’re leaving EastEnders!
Yeah, I left because the time was right to do so. I was ready for a change - after 32 years! I adore EastEnders but you can’t do everything. It had to be a clean break so I could focus on other projects and also, spend time with my family, which I haven’t been doing enough of in recent months.
What was the inspiration behind your new show?
I bought gold slippers online for £80 which, when they arrived, were rubbish. They looked awful and I hated them. I didn’t think long enough about buying the product before I clicked!
So have you bought anything after testing products on your show?
A vegetable chopper which, as a left-hander, I found really easy to use. As somebody who’s the joke of the family when it comes to chopping things, it has prevented me from chopping my hand off! I’ve considered buying an LED face mask to hydrate my face. I’ve also tested out a machine which told me about my body fat, the results of which weren’t entirely positive but it was brilliant to do and really important.
What’s The Big Deal? airs on Channel 4 from 4 April
