BBC Share By Sophie Dainty Sep 26 2025 By Sophie Dainty Sep 26 2025 Natalie Cassidy teases EastEnders return months after Sonia's exit from the Square Sonia left Walford earlier this year Natalie Cassidy Sonia Fowler Share By Sophie Dainty Sep 26 2025 By Sophie Dainty Sep 26 2025 Natalie Cassidy has revealed whether she’d return to EastEnders as Sonia Fowler. Sonia left Walford earlier this year, following Natalie’s decision to quit the soap after 30 years. At the time, Natalie said she was ready for a change, having played Sonia intermittently for over three decades. Natalie joined EastEnders as Sonia in 1993. She left in 2007 but reprised the role on a full-term basis in 2014. But while Natalie is enjoying life outside the show, she hasn’t completely ruled out at a Sonia return in the future. Article continues below Read all the latest spoilers Natalie Cassidy on possible EastEnders return “It’s been freeing leaving EastEnders”, she said to Prima magazine. “I feel liberated and just happy. Albert Square will always hold a place in my heart, and I love it there. There could be a storyline where I come back for a week – those things are great. But it took up a lot of time. “I used to be learning lines in the evening, and that’s gone now. And then I’d be up at six in the morning. You’re not a scaffolder or a heart surgeon, but it did take a long time, whereas now, my evenings are free, unless I’m recording a podcast at home.” Natalie is enjoying life outside of EastEnders (Credit: This Morning/YouTube) Natalie Cassidy on life after EastEnders Away from EastEnders, Natalie has been focusing on her highly-successful podcast, Life With Nat. She will also be following her ambition to train as a carer in a new BBC documentary, titled Natalie Cassidy Learning to Care. And Natalie has also unveiled a new look to coincide with her new chapter. “Sonia isn’t the most glamorous of characters, bless her,” she said. “I wanted to stay true to her character, so I never got extensions put in, or dyed my hair. “She was just a worker who didn’t have a lot of money and worked for the NHS. “But coming away, and breaking free, I just thought, ‘I want to be glam. I want to wear coloured nails. And just feel like me’. “I do feel like my face has changed a little since leaving EastEnders, because I was quite sad and depressed when I was playing Sonia, or angry all the time. So I feel like my frown lines have sort of faded away, which is quite nice.” Read more: Who’s leaving, joining and returning to EastEnders? Complete list of cast exits, arrivals and returns. Share Good to Know Share By Sophie Dainty Sep 26 2025 By Sophie Dainty Sep 26 2025
