Natalie Cassidy has lifted the lid on the remarkable moment she improvised during a rehearsal for EastEnders’ live 40th anniversary show.
The actress, 41, is one of the soap’s biggest stars, playing the role of Sonia Fowler on and off since 1993.
She appeared in last week’s special edition of the show, which saw her uncle Martin killed off after a shocking explosion at the Queen Vic.
At one point in a practice run ahead of the live episode – the seventh in EastEnders’ four decades – the cast were faced with a technical issue, but Natalie took the chance to show her off-the-cuff acting skills.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Off The Telly: ‘One of the rehearsal nights I got into the ambulance and the monitor was off. So the monitor was black.
‘And it was interesting because I do love behind the cameras, you know, I’m obsessed with it. I love all of it, the technical side as well.
Natalie Cassidy has lifted the lid on the remarkable moment she improvised during a rehearsal for EastEnders’ live 40th anniversary show
The actress appeared in last week’s special edition of the soap, which saw her welcome a baby girl into the world after she was trapped in the Queen Vic during a fire
‘So Patsy [Palmer] and [Jacqueline Jossa] at some points kept saying, “I can hear too much in the cans.”
‘I said, “no, don’t turn it down”. I liked hearing, “cut to this”, I liked hearing the shot numbers because I sort of knew the shot numbers, because I’m a geek.
‘So when the monitor went off and everyone was a little bit panicky, I said, “shhh, Emma, I just need to hear you”, and I could just hear, “cut to Phil…cut to Diane and Scott…cut to…”
‘And with the cut, I knew where to come in. So when it was done, I timed it without the monitor and I thought, now it don’t matter what happens.
‘I thought it doesn’t matter now. If the monitor goes black, I know it’ll be all right.’
Fortunately for Natalie, the equipment held up during the landmark episode’s airing, but viewers were quick to spot a continuity error associated with her character on the night.
Sonia welcomed her baby girl into the world after she was trapped in the Queen Vic during the fire which acted as the main plot point for the show.
Viewers were left worried that the youngster wouldn’t survive as she stayed quiet after being born.
In a practice run ahead of the live episode the cast were faced with a technical issue, but Natalie took the chance to show her off-the-cuff acting skills
EastEnders fans were left devastated as Martin Fowler was killed off in tragic scenes during the live episode
Later on, Sonia, Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer) and Lauren Branning (Jaqueline Jossa) were all over the moon when the baby finally started crying amongst the drama.
Fans, however, pointed out the same thing about Sonia’s daughter, noticing she had somehow managed to dramatically grow in size throughout the live episode.
It came after reports that Natalie could be set to ‘make millions’ following her EastEnders exit which was part of the show’s 40th-anniversary celebrations with insiders billing her as the ‘next Stacey Solomon’.
Brand expert Nick Ede told The Sun that Natalie’s income is set to skyrocket as he revealed exactly how the actress, who recently competed as Bush in The Masked Singer, can make this her most successful move following her departure.
He said: ‘Obviously EastEnders gives a really good salary and shows like Strictly, which she did in 2009, pay very well.
‘But away from the BBC she can now do endorsement deals and commercial deals – she can utilise her following on social media to promote stuff.
‘I know she’s going to be hosting a couple of documentaries for Channel 4, which is quite interesting because people like her.’
And he concluded that she will become ‘more famous’ and ‘make a couple more millions’ as said she could take on I’m A Celeb next because she has already competed on Strictly.
Natalie (pictured, in 1997) is one of the soap’s biggest stars, playing the role of Sonia Fowler on and off since 1993
The star (pictured, in a January episode) reportedly could be set to ‘make millions’ following her EastEnders exit which was part of the show’s 40th-a
nniversary celebrations
In her first interview since announcing the news, Natalie explained that turning 42 this year made her feel it was time to ‘be brave’ and explore new opportunities.
She told The Sun: ‘I’m 42 this year, I just feel like it’s time to be brave. You don’t want to get to 70 and think, “I never tried that”.’
Natalie also expressed her deep love for the show, saying: ‘I’ve loved this programme with all my heart. I started at ten, it’s in my bones, it’s in my heart.’
The decision to leave came after a heart-to-heart with EastEnders boss Chris Clenshaw six months ago.
The star said: ‘I’d been thinking about it for a little while. I had a wonderful chat with Chris back in the summer. It’s just exciting.’
