Natalie Cassidy on EastEnders exit: 'I really felt I was saying goodbye this time'
The actress is leaving the soap for a second time.
It's the end of an era.
As EastEnders fans prepare to bid farewell to the soap's beloved Sonia for a second time, actress Natalie Cassidy opened up about the experience in this week's issue of Radio Times magazine.
She added: "I left once before, in 2007, popped back a few times, then came back in 2014," she told Johnathon Hughes.
"It’s good to rest a character, though this time I felt I really was saying goodbye.”
It's sure to be an emotional farewell, with the actress revealing that Sonia's final week is "wonderful", despite the many hardships the character has faced lately.
"It’s a nice look back on her history," she added.
She joined the show in 1993, aged 10, an experienced she recounted to Radio Times: "Sonia was meant to be a little blonde, waif-like girl.
"They’d cast Lindsey Coulson as Carol Jackson and had the image of a mini-me as her daughter. Then I came along!"
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The actress confirmed she's leaving to spend more time with her daughters, and to focus on other projects, including hosting.
She also has a memoir titled Happy Days landing later this year.
You can read the full interview in this week's issue of Radio Times magazine.
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EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and from 6am on BBC iPlayer.
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