EastEnders fans were left gutted when Natalie Cassidy announced she’d be leaving Albert Square – but why did she decide to leave after 32 years on and off the soap?

Natalie Cassidy makes personal hygiene confession on Loose Women

It’s set to be an emotional night in EastEnders tonight as Sonia Fowler prepares to say goodbye to Walford. Her exit doesn’t come as a shock to fans, as Natalie Cassidy announced she’d be stepping down earlier this year. But why did the star decide to leave?

Natalie Cassidy first joined EastEnders as Sonia Jackson in 1993, and has become on of the show’s most legendary characters. She first arrived with the Jackson family, including sister Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer). 32 years on, and the pair are living together once again – although their relationship has hit bumps in the road.

Speaking on her exit when it was announced in January, Natalie said she’d decided it was time to move on. “After another 11 solid years back on the square, I have decided it’s time to move on to pastures new,” she said.

Sonia and Bianca have been going through tough times(Image: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)
“EastEnders is in my bones so I will never forget where I started my career and I will continue to love the show.”

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She then continued to thank executive producer Chris Clenshaw – who also left the soap in February – for the opportunity to be such a big part of the show’s 40th anniversary. “See you, Sonia, going but never forgotten,” she concluded.

It’s been a tough time for Sonia as she recently found out her partner Reiss Colwell had murdered his ex-wife Debbie to pay for their IVF. He’d also held her sister Bianca hostage, keeping her in a lock-up to hide his killer secret.

Not only that, Sonia lost her ex-husband and father to her daughter Bex, Martin Fowler, in the tragic 40th anniversary Queen Vic explosion. On the same night, Reiss was crushed in front of her eyes – all while she was going through labour with her daughter Julia.

Sonia’s dad Terry has asked her to move to Bali with him(Image: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)
Sonia then decided it was time to leave Walford and had been offered to move to Bali with her dad, Terry Cant who appeared in the show earlier this week.

Further speaking on her deicison to leave Sonia behind, Natalie explained: “I left because I felt the time was right to do so, I was ready for a challenge after 32 years.

“I adore EastEnders, but you can’t do everything, and EastEnders is a factory with 60 cast members and 300 staff, so they can’t cater for someone who says ‘By the way, I need two months off to do this, I need another three months off to do this’. It’s not fair,” she said.

“It had to be a clean break so I could focus on other projects and spend time with my family, which I haven’t been doing enough of in recent months.

Natalie Cassidy leaves EastEnders after 32 years(Image: BBC/Firebird/Natalie Seery)
“Even during EastEnders, I always consciously branched out, because a change is as good as a rest, and I think it’s important to come out of your comfort zone. I think you can get too comfortable. You need to keep things fresh going forward,” Natalie added.

Despite being on the soap for 32 years, Natalie has had breaks before. She first left the soap 2007, before returning briefly between 2010 and 2011, and later coming back to Walford in 2014.