EastEnders star Natalie Cassidy has candidly spoken about her family’s reaction to an “embarrassing appearance” she made on The Chase.
The actress, 41, who is widely recognised for portraying Sonia Fowler in the BBC soap, opened up about how her nerves got the better of her on the ITV quiz show, leaving her feeling self-conscious.
On the Monday Mile podcast, with Olympic snowboarder Aimee Fuller, Natalie disclosed her dislike of watching herself on game shows, despite having been on The Weakest Link and Blankety Blank before as reported by the Express.
She recounted to Aimee: “The Chase was one of the most embarrassing things I’ve ever done because that first round, you have to do a quickfire, and I genuinely looked like a potato. I was so nervous, I just stood, I looked like a lifeless potato.”
She continued: “I was so nervous, the light came down, my family ripped me apart when it came out. I was like please don’t watch it, it was so different from sitting in your lounge.”
Natalie appeared on The Chase in 2016 alongside culinary star Dave Myers of the Hairy Bikers, Olympian Amy Williams, and Westlife’s Nicky Byrne. They worked together to bank £10,000 before facing Mark “The Beast” Labbett in a tense finale.
Soap star Natalie had The Chase’s host Bradley Walsh in fits of laughter with her witty comeback to The Chaser during a question about “who was the last foreign-born American Secretary of State”.
She triumphed over The Beast, Mark Labbett, when her guess of Madeleine Albright proved correct, beating his incorrect answer of Colin Powell.
Basking in her victory, Natalie quipped, “Sometimes you’ve got to guess, haven’t you?” The Beast expressed his astonishment, saying, “Honestly, thought I knew that one…” only for Natalie to swiftly respond with a playful jab: “Well you didn’t, did you?”
She also couldn’t resist poking fun at his disappointed expression, joking, “Like a bulldog chewing a wasp that face. Look, he’s really upset.”
In the tense final chase, Natalie teamed up with the late Dave Myers to take on The Beast, who had 13 questions to catch them. Despite securing a pushback, they were eventually caught with 56 seconds remaining.
Speaking on the Monday Mile podcast, Natalie opened up about her less fortunate experience on Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel, where she lamented, “The Wheel, I never got picked, I was fuming, just sat there and didn’t do anything.”
Earlier this year, Natalie announced she would be leaving EastEnders after two periods amounting to over two decades as the much-loved Sonia. Her exit is marked by a mix of sadness and excitement for what lies ahead.
Reflecting on her tenure with the long-running soap, she expressed mixed emotions: “I feel extremely sad to be writing this, but also very excited.”
She then added depth to her significant departure: “After another 11 solid years back on the square, I have decided it’s time to move on to pastures new.”
In a show of lasting affection for the programme that kickstarted her career, she concluded, “EastEnders is in my bones so I will never forget where I started my career and I will continue to love the show.”
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