EastEnders actress Natalie Cassidy says she ‘ate for England’ after being paid £100,000 to film weight loss DVD

Natalie Cassidy has spoken out about a weight loss DVD she made in 2007 he soap actress was paid a massive £100,000 to film the workout plan, which claimed participants could lose two and half stone by completing the regime.

Natalie is known for playing Sonia Fowler on EastEnders, which she began in 1993.

She spoke about the DVD which is titled “Natalie Cassidy’s Then and Now” on the Grace Dent podcast.

Natalie said: “I was very overweight and they approached me and said listen, we’re going to give you £100,000, we’re going to get you really fit and you’re going to lose four stone.

“I was like happy days, let’s go for it. I just thought, that’s a lot of money; but it wasn’t the right thing to do.

“It wasn’t - you are losing a lot of weight in a three or four month period, twelve or sixteen weeks, low calories and training every day.

“I got there, and as soon as that DVD came out, I ate for England. I put all the weight back on in eight weeks.”

Natalie released another fitness DVD titled The Perfect Ten in 2013.

Natalie Cassidy

Actress

Natalie is best known for her role as Sonia Fowler on the popular BBC soap EastEnders.

She began the role in 1993 and was a continuous character until 2006 when she took a break.

Natalie came back to the show for a few guest appearances in 2010 and made a permanent return in 2014.

• Natalie Ann Cassidy was born on 13 May 1983 in Islington, London 
• As well as her famous role in EastEnders she has appeared in Psychoville, The Wright Stuff and Five 
• She even had her own TV show called Natalie Cassidy: Becoming Mum in 2010
• In 2012 Natalie took part in Celebrity Big Brother but she did not last long in the competition as she was evicted fifth 
• Natalie was a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing in 2009 - her partner was Vincent Simone - she came fifth 
• Her latest acting credit is from the BBC comedy show Mandy which came out in 2020 

Natalie spoke to The Mirror about her experience being a child actress: “At 10, I didn’t really know.

“I came into it and knew it was a programme on the television.

“It was just a lovely place to be and get out of school. I used to come along and talk to everyone.”

Connections

James Bye

James Bye played Martin Fowler on Eastenders from 2014 onwards.

Martin was Sonia’s husband on the show - the duo had a rocky relationship which led to divorce.

James is a 38-year-old actor from Basingstoke.

June Brown

In Eastenders June played the iconic role of Dot Branning - who was Sonia’s step-grandmother.

The pair had a warm and loving relationship on screen.

Sadly, June died on 3 April 2022.

Lindsey Coulson

Lindsey played Carol Jackson on Eastenders - Sonia’s mother.

Her most prominent storyline in the show was around breast cancer.

Adam Cottrell

She dated Adam Cottrell between 2009 and 2013.

He was a transport manager from Bristol at the time.

The pair share a daughter and got engaged but decided to split.

Marc Humphreys

Natalie has been dating Marc since 2014 - they announced their engagement in 2016.

The duo had a daughter in August 2016.

Marc is a cameraman and not often spotted in the limelight.