EastEnders star Natalie Cassidy is set to appear on stage at a comedy gig following her departure from the BBC One soap.
The actress, best known for playing Sonia Fowler, made the decision to leave EastEnders following its action-packed 40th anniversary.
‘After another 11 solid years back on The Square, I have decided it’s time to move on to pastures new,’ she said in a statement at the time.
‘EastEnders is in my bones so I will never forget where I started my career and I will continue to love the show.’
Natalie, 41, has already wrapped filming, with her final scenes set to air in the coming week.
Sonia, as viewers know, has been coming to terms with the fact that her partner Reiss Colwell (Jonny Freeman) killed his wife Debbie and allowed her to go to prison for it.
To complicate matters further, Reiss took Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer) prisoner at a lock-up and subsequently played a role in the fire at the Queen Vic, which led to the death of Sonia’s former flame Martin (James Bye).
The killer perished in the disaster as Sonia gave birth to her baby amid the rubble. How exactly she will leave the Square remains to be seen.
As for Natalie, the soap icon will embark on an exciting new role of sorts, as reported in The Sun, appearing on stage as a special guest for an in-person live recording of podcast Pappy’s Flatshare Slamdown.
Podcast hosts Matthew Crosby, Ben Clark and Tom Parry will be joined on stage by Walford legend Natalie and comedian Leah Davis during their live show on May 27, at The Phoenix Pub in Cavendish Square.
The official Instagram account for the podcast confirmed the news, writing: ‘PAPPY’S FLATSHARE SLAMDOWN, is back at the Phoenix Pub for TWO live shows on May 27th and June 2nd!.
The message went on to confirm that Natalie was among the special guests.
Discussing what life has been like since leaving the Square, Natalie revealed that it’s ‘nice’ to feel a little bit different from Sonia after such a lengthy stint.
‘The burden of learning lines every night has gone at the moment, which is a really lovely thing,’ she said on her podcast Off The Telly. ‘I feel like I’ve got the evenings back, so that is really nice.’
