(born 13 May 1983) is a British actress, most commonly known for appearing in the television soap EastEnders where she played Sonia Jackson for many years. She has also appeared in the BBC Two sitcom Psychoville and was a contestant on the seventh series of Strictly Come Dancing.
Career
As a child, Cassidy attended Anna Scher Theatre. She joined the cast of EastEnders in 1993, playing Sonia Jackson. In 2006, she played a rival to Lauren Cooper in an episode of The Catherine Tate Show screened on BBC Two. On 9 April 2006, the BBC announced Cassidy's departure from EastEnders with her final scenes being screened in February 2007. She then concentrated on work in the theatre, appearing in extensive UK tours of The Vagina Monologues, Bedroom Farce and Gertrude's Secret opposite Prunella Scales and a run of The Cherry Orchard at the Chichester Festival Theatre opposite Diana Rigg.
Towards the end of 2007, Cassidy made headlines after losing a lot of weight, and released a fitness DVD entitled Natalie Cassidy's Then and Now Workout, which became the fastest-selling weight-loss DVD ever in the UK. In 2008, she appeared in the documentary Natalie Cassidy's Diet Secrets for BBC Three. In 2008 she appeared as a regular panelist on the topical discussion series The Wright Stuff on Five. Later in 2008 she gained press coverage for giving up her diet and regaining considerable weight. Her personal trainer stated that Cassidy had "slipped back into her old habits" and that she was "really disappointed.
In 2009, Cassidy was seen in a supporting role in the BBC Two comedy TV series Psychoville, alongside Dawn French and Eileen Atkins. The first episode was aired in June 2009. She also provided the voice-over for BBC Three's Underage and Pregnant.
In 2009, Cassidy signed up for a series of Strictly Come Dancing, beginning in October. Her professional partner was Vincent Simone and she was voted off the competition in 5th place on 28 November 2009. Cassidy joined ex-EastEnders actor James Alexandrou and Nina Wadia to create comedy shorts for BBC Raw Words, an adult literacy website. The series of video clips about story writing also included appearances from Lenny Henry and Rowland Rivron.
On 25 October 2009 it was announced that Cassidy would reprise her role as Sonia in EastEnders in 2010 with her on screen family Lindsey Coulson who played Carol Jackson, Dean Gaffney who played Robbie Jackson and Devon Anderson as Billie Jackson. The Jackson family were reunited with Patsy Palmer who rejoined the soap in 2008 as Bianca Jackson. Cassidy appeared in a small number of episodes between 8 and 18 February 2010. In 2010 E4 announced that Natalie Cassidy would be starring in her own reality TV show, Natalie Cassidy: Becoming Mum.
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