EastEnders’ Natalie Cassidy reveals disgusting advice June Brown gave her for Sonia’s iconic labour scenes
The revelation came whilst Natalie was in the Christmas Bake Off tent
NATALIE Cassidy has revealed the disgusting advice she received from EastEnders co-star June Brown for an iconic scene in the BBC soap.
Viewers of The Great Festive Bake Off saw a battle of the soaps this year, with stars taking part from EastEnders, Coronation Street and Emmerdale.
At one point Natalie – who plays Sonia Fowler in the BBC soap – revealed how she’d turned to the late, great June Brown when preparing for her iconic birth scene on the show aged just 15.
The revelation came as she was talking to Bake Off host Alison Hammond who asked Natalie about her favourite storylines from Walford’s past.
Whilst still concentrating on her yule log topping, Natalie immediately came back with: “It’s got to be giving birth on the sofa, I was only fifteen.”
Alison gasped: “Ah, obviously you’d never had a kid, how did you do your research?”
Natalie went into character with her hand holding an imaginary cigarette, June Brown’s signature look.
She replied: “I had June Brown, Dot Cotton, and she went ‘darling, it’s like pooing a melon’ and that was all the info I needed.”
The birth in question aired back in October 2000 after Sonia had slept with Martin Fowler.
The teenager had no idea she was pregnant and the birth of her daughter, Bex, on the sofa at home came as a surprise to her and her shocked new boyfriend Jamie Mitchell.
The baby was eventually delivered by Big Mo after hearing Sonia’s screams through the wall.
The Bake Off based reminder of June – who died in April 2022 – was the first of several in the festive version of the competition, and she must have been at the forefront of Natalie’s mind.
For her showstopper the actor and podcaster paid homage to both June Brown and Barabara Windsor by making angel figures in their likeness out of orange and walnut biscuits.
As she was working on her final festive bake Alison asked Natalie about life on the Square and whether the cast spend time together off camera.
Natalie replied: “Me and June went to Malta once. We had some champagne and we were sat in the jacuzzi together…naked.”
A shocked Alison replied “Well what a great holiday!”.
June Brown, who died aged 95, was one of the longest serving cast members in Eastenders history
She appeared as the iconic Dot Cotton in an incredible 2884 episodes from 1985 through to 1993, returning again from 1997 until she finally called it a day in 2020.
The Great British Bake Off Christmas special is available to watch now on catch up.
