Former EastEnders star Natalie Cassidy has said that leaving the soap has been "freeing".
The actress left the long running soap earlier after playing Sonia Fowler on and off for more than 30 years.
In a recent interview, Cassidy said that she always felt she connected with "the elders" on the soap, mentioning her late co stars Barbara Windsor and June Brown as influences. She said that she enjoyed working with many of the older actresses on the show.
"Obviously the elders, because I am an old soul," Cassidy told Prima magazine. "I always connected with Wendy Richards and Barbara Windsor, and I would say that June Brown was my dearest, oldest friend".
Barbara Windsor played Peggy Mitchell in the soap, she died in 2020, while June Brown who played long term cast member Dot Cotton into her 90s, died in 2022. Wendy Richards who played Pauline Fowler for many years, passed away in 2009.
Speaking to the publication, Cassidy who did not rule out returning for guest appearances in the soap, said she enjoyed the chance to reinvent herself.
"Sonia isn’t the most glamorous of characters, bless her, but I wanted to stay true to her character, so I never got extensions put in, or dyed my hair," she told the magazine", She was just a worker who didn’t have a lot of money and worked for the NHS. But coming away, and breaking free, I just thought, ‘I want to be glam. I want to wear coloured nails. And just feel like me".
"I do feel like my face has changed a little since leaving EastEnders, because I was quite sad and depressed when I was playing Sonia, or angry all the time".
"So I feel like my frown lines have sort of faded away, which is quite nice".
Elsewhere, Cassidy also revealed that she had decided to leave EastEnders after turning 40.
"I know it’s a bit of a cliché, but I think turning 40 is a milestone," she said. "I think you know who you are, you know who your friends are, and where you are in life. And for me, having been in this business for such a long time, I just needed to be free and be open to everything else".
"EastEnders is a brilliant job, but when you’re there, you’re chained. You know where you are and what you’re doing. But you haven’t got any time to plan anything else, so it does take over your whole life".
Natalie Cassidy also stated that it had been "freeing leaving EastEnders", but "Albert Square will always hold a place in my heart".
Cassidy who appears on the front cover of the November issue of Prima, made her first appearance on Albert Square in 1993, before leaving in 2007. She later returned to the soap between 2010 and 2011, before returning again in 2014.
