Finally ...I can be glam

Natalie Cassidy on life after 32 years of being known as EastEnders' Sonia

- BY JANINE YAQOOB

Move over, Sonia Jackson, and take your trumpet with you... after 32 years it is finally time for Natalie Cassidy to take centre stage.

The 42-year-old was only 10 when she joined EastEnders and she inhabited the character with such conviction that the lines of fact and fiction blurred.

But no more. Natalie says since leaving the BBC1 juggernaut this year, the changes have been so huge that not only does she feel different, she looks different, too.

"It was amazing when I got to reinvent myself after leaving EastEnders," she says, beaming. "Sonia isn't the most glamorous of characters, bless her, but I wanted to stay true to her character, so I never got extensions put in, or dyed my hair.