EX-EASTENDERS star Natalie Cassidy has claimed that Paloma Faith used to BULLY her at school.

Actress Natalie, 42, who played Sonia Fowler on the BBC1 soap, made the shock confession about popstar Paloma, 43, who grew up in the same area of East London as Natalie, on her podcast Life With Nat.

She revealed: “Paloma Faith, she bullied me at school. She went to Islington Green and was in the year above me. We’ve spoken about it and she has said sorry about that. Gutted.”

Indeed, the pair both used to attend the same secondary school, now called  the City of London Academy Islington.

However,  the Make Your Own Kind of Music hitmaker had a VERY different experience to Natalie at school, describing it as “one of the best periods of my life”.

She said: “I had a really amazing experience. People were always criticising it but the teachers were just so brilliant.

“It was really creative, with really great art, music and dance departments. I really enjoyed it.”

We have reached out to Paloma Faith’s representative for a comment.

Natalie – who quit as EastEnders’ Sonia Fowler in January more than three decades after her first appearance – recently suffered a huge blow.

It was confirmed earlier this month that the BBC wouldn’t be re-commissioning her podcast with Joanna Page.

A spokesperson told The Sun: “What started as a six month project turned into more than a year of joyous TV chatter, and over 80 heart-warming episodes.

“Thank you to Nat and Jo for their warm recommendations and insider analysis, and to the whole team for keeping listeners in the loop with what to watch.

EastEnders’ Natalie Cassidy drops biggest hint yet about when Sonia Fowler will return after shock exit from soap

“We look forward to working with Nat and Jo again soon!”

But it’s not all bad news as Natalie has landed her own show with the broadcaster, titled Learning To Care.

It will follow the actress as she fulfils her longtime ambition of wanting to train as carer.