EastEnders star Natalie Cassidy has reflected on leaving the role of Sonia Fowler after three decades, saying the time was “right”.
In January, it was announced that Cassidy would be bowing out later this year. More recently, she revealed she’s already filmed her final scenes as Sonia.
“I left because I felt the time was right to do so,” the soap icon told Bella magazine. “I was ready for a change after 32 years.”
The actor joined the BBC series in 1993, taking a break in 2007 and again in 2011 before returning in a regular capacity in 2014.
During her time on the soap, she’s been involved in many a dramatic subplot, including being framed for murder in a recent scheme at the hand of her fiancé, Reiss Colwell.
BBC
“I adore EastEnders, but you can’t do everything,” she said.
“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.
“It had to be a clean break so I can focus on other projects and spend time with my family, which I haven’t been doing enough of in recent months.”
BBC
Details of Sonia’s exit story are being kept under wraps for the time being, but it’s likely that her Walford farewell will coincide with that of her sister Bianca Jackson, played by Patsy Palmer.
Earlier this month, Palmer took to Instagram to post a tribute to her co-stars, including Cassidy, with her message suggesting she’d finished filming as Bianca.
EastEnders airs on Mondays-Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer, where most episodes drop early at 6am ahead of their TV broadcast.
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