EastEnders' Natalie Cassidy: 'Sonia gets frustrated with Reiss but she'll forgive him'

The week starts with Reiss panicking that he can't meet Phil's deadline and when he tries to get Sonia out of the way for a day, it fails to work, leading to an unpleasant visit from Phil.

Now aware of the truth, Sonia manages to buy some time, but a surprise deal from Teddy leaves Reiss in a tricky deal...

Later in the week, things go from bad to worse for the pair when the pair head to The Vic for an engagement party but it's interrupted by the police, who arrest Sonia and Reiss for Debbie's murder!

Cassidy has now opened up on the dramatic storyline to press including RadioTimes.com.

How is Sonia feeling about her relationship with Reiss after the tumultuous last few weeks?

Natalie Cassidy: Sonia loves Reiss and thinks he’s a really good man. Yes, he gets himself in sticky situations, but he always manages to explain himself to her afterwards. She knows he has a tendency to dig himself into bigger and bigger holes, and Sonia does get frustrated with Reiss for that, but she’s standing by him.

Why hasn’t Sonia taken note of the many red flags from Reiss's behaviour?

NC: Sonia's main drive in life now is to have her baby and make a family with Reiss. If they hadn’t had the IVF journey together, I think Sonia might have told Reiss where to go after one too many lies. There have been so many lies, but she’s so dead set on having this family that Sonia is just going with it.

Is all the gossip about them shaking her faith in Reiss?

NC: No, the gossip makes Sonia even more protective of her family unit. As far as Sonia’s concerned, what’s going on with them is nobody else’s business. The rest of the Square don’t know the full story; they are just gossip-mongering, and so she tells them where to go. Sonia fronts it out and defends Reiss to the hilt.

She seems to be channelling the other strong women in her family by standing up and telling the gossips where to go. Do you enjoy playing that?

NC: Many of Sonia's speeches in these episodes remind me of the old days in the '90s when Carol Jackson or Bianca Jackson would have their say. Sonia has definitely got that fire in her, but we don’t often see it. It’s been lovely to play those scenes and see that inner Jackson strength that Sonia has that both her mum and sister have, too.

Is Sonia touched that Kathy is throwing her an engagement party?

NC: That really touches her. Remember, Sonia hasn't got Carol there, Bex is off travelling, she’s had an argument with Bianca, who has stormed off, and Whitney has left the Square. She’s glad to have Lauren and Jack around but it is lovely for her to have Kathy to support her. I love the relationship they’ve created between those two women through Rocky and all his antics. Also, I just love working with Gillian Taylforth.

Is Sonia excited to be engaged at least?

NC: She is, but again, nothing is ever simple with Reiss and this time it’s because of the engagement ring issue. Reiss could have gone out and bought Sonia a cheap ring but he didn’t, he gave her Debbie’s ring, which was awkward, and then Debbie’s parents saw it and kicked off. It’s such a shame because right now all Sonia just wants is to nest, enjoy being engaged and being in this early stage of pregnancy, and just have a quiet life.

Among everything else, is Sonia worried about the scan?

NC: There's so much trepidation going into the scan because of her past experience. What I really like about the IVF aspect of this story is that it hasn’t been rushed. It’s been nearly a year of them going through the IVF process and there’s a lot of expectation and pressure.

Tell us what happens at Reiss and Sonia's engagement party...

NC: Sonia is having a really nice time, but then the police turn up. To her, it seems whatever she does, something rains on her parade. There’s a shock when the police tell them Debbie has been murdered, and they both get arrested.

What’s it been like to work with Jonny on this story?

NC: It’s been great. We really get on and we’re great mates so it’s been good fun to play and I’m very lucky to have this storyline with him.

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EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7:30pm on BBC One and from 6am on BBC iPlayer.

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