It is lovely to not be chained to the schedule

Actress Natalie Cassidy, who played Sonia in EastEnders, tells HANNAH STEPHENSON about the freedom she has felt since leaving the hit soap

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IT'S six months since EastEnders star Natalie Cassidy, who played Sonia Fowler in the hit soap, left Albert Square with trumpet in hand - but she says it feels final.

"It is lovely to just have a bit more time and not be chained to the schedule," says the Islington-born actress and mother-of-two, who joined the soap at the age of 10.

"I really breathe a sigh of relief to just be able to go, 'Oh, I can make that. I'm going to pencil that in for November. I'm going to make that for the children.' For me, that is the biggest piece of freedom."

Natalie, 42, first appeared in Albert Square in 1993 and has been there on and off for 32 years (as both a Jackson and a Fowler), three quarters of her life, with her female mentors the late Dame Barbara Windsor and Wendy Richard giving her much help along the way.

"I remember seeing Barbara, this tiny, beautiful woman, a ball of fire, tottering around on her heels, but she was amazing about professionalism, knowing your lines and being on time. Punctuality is what I remember a lot about Barbara. You needed to be on your deathbed to not come to work.

"I think the advice I got from both of those women really helped me keep the job for a very long time."

She relives many moments of her life in her new book Happy Days, from when she was plucked out of Anna Scher's acting classes in Islington to star as the trumpet-playing Sonia, recalling the hard graft, fame, laughter and tears behind the scenes.

During her time on the show, she tackled storylines of affairs, feuds, bereavements, family problems, teenage pregnancy and a cancer scare. Fame soon followed as she was watched by millions of viewers every week.

Unlike some of her acting peers, she never went off the rails, which she puts down to her solid home life, hardworking ethic and love of the job she was doing. But there were periods of huge pressure, she recalls.