NATALIE Cassidy has landed herself a brand new job – and it couldn’t be further away from Albert Square.
The EastEnders actress, who has quit the soap after 32 years, is trying her hand at something completely different.
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Natalie is set to perform at a comedy gig in London after being invited along as a special guest.
The star, who played Sonia Fowler in EastEnders, will be taking to the stage for Pappy’s Flatshare Slamdown.
The show will be a live recording of the popular podcast and will be in the format of its usual “hilarious and anarchic panel game”.
Natalie will be joined on stage by fellow guest, stand-up comedian, radio DJ and voice-over artist Leah Davis.
A blurb for Pappy’s Flatshare Slamdown reads: “Set in Pappy’s flat – with landlord Matthew in charge – each show sees unruly tenants Ben and Tom battle to avoid doing an annoying household chore.
“To help them in this exciting high-stakes contest they force their houseguests to take sides and help them fight it out over a number of stupid games.”
Pappy’s Flatshare Showdown is hosted by Matthew Crosby and its team captains are Ben Clark and Tom Parry.
The show that guest stars Natalie will take place at The Phoenix pub in Cavendish Square, London, on May 27. General admission tickets cost just £12.62.
Natalie, who is a mum to two daughters, has been spreading her wings since bowing out of EastEnders.
The soap star played Sonia Fowler for more than three decades but filmed her last scenes in February. They will play out in the coming weeks.
EastEnders star Natalie Cassidy brands the soap a ‘burden’ and insists she ‘doesn’t miss’ it following her exit after 30 years
She has since described having to learn lines as a “burden” and said she “doesn’t miss” working on the soap.
Natalie, who now hosts two podcasts and appeared on The Masked Singer UK earlier this year, has already been poached from the BBC by Channel 4.
The star is currently fronting a brand new consumer show called What’s The Big Deal? and it sees her putting the nation’s most hyped-up products to the test, from ice baths to teeth whiteners.
But whilst Natalie is happy with her decision to quit EastEnders for now, she has already waged war on soap bosses if they dared to recast her.
She said: “If they recast Sonia, I’m going to Borehamwood [where the show is shot] with a sledgehammer.
“I feel very protective about Sonia. She could die off screen, though.
“We could be watching it one night and you know the old phone call: Cathy runs in saying, ‘Ian, I’ve just had a message, Sonia’s dead’.
“That could easily happen. But I do hope, like for the 50th anniversary, that I could pop back.”
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