EastEnders legend Natalie Cassidy, who has played Sonia Fowler on and off for over three decades, thinks years of learning lines for the soap has left her with memory issues
Natalie Cassidy has said she thinks her memory is “shot to pieces” thanks to the way she learns lines for EastEnders.
The actress played Albert Square’s Sonia on and off for 32 years, and said she thinks learning scripts then discarding them and moving on to the next week’s lines has had an impact on what she remembers. The star – who announced earlier this year that she was leaving the BBC soap – said she feels her brain has been “trained to do something to then just throw it away”.
Natalie, 41, opened up during a chat on her Life With Nat podcast, as she and her big brother Tony talked about memories from their childhood. She admits she doesn’t “remember much” these days.
A listener mentioned that she loved how Tony would remind the actress of things from when they were younger that she didn’t know. “Well, that’s because I don’t remember much, I don’t know if that’s good or not, to be honest,” the actress confessed.
“My memory has shot to pieces and that’s because when I learn lines at EastEnders… I feel for all my life, I learn something and I throw it away.”
She went on: “I genuinely believe that there are different muscles in the brain. I really believe I’ve been trained to do something and just throw it away.”
The actress suggested things might be different now that she will not be learning lines all the time for her role in the soap. “Maybe that’ll change now, I don’t retain much,” she added.
Natalie said she loves it when people remind her of something that happened that she can’t recall. “It’s like a new story, so thank you for that,” she said.
The star joined the cast of EastEnders in 1993 and stayed in the soap until 2007, when she left for the first time. She made her comeback in the Square in 2010, staying until 2011.
In 2014 she reprised the role and stayed until this year. She had a big role in the soap’s 40th anniversary celebrations as Sonia gave birth during the special live episode.
She announced in January that she was going to be waving goodbye to the Square, saying that she was “extremely sad” but also looking forward to moving on. Natalie also insisted that she would “never forget” her Walford roots.
“After another 11 solid years back on the square, I have decided it’s time to move on to pastures new,” she said in a statement. “EastEnders is in my bones so I will never forget where I started my career and I will continue to love the show.”
The star has already lined up a new job, as she will be fronting a four-part consumer affairs show for Channel 4. Entitled What’s The Big Deal?, it will see Natalie exploring four products that are getting talked about a lot.
Topics covered in the series will include ice baths and teeth whiteners, with the star exploring all the hype around them.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
