Former EastEnders star Natalie Cassidy has looked back on what she has described as a "huge mistake" she made early on in her career. The star, known for playing nurse and Walford stalwart Sonia Fowler on the BBC soap, has expressed regret over weight-loss DVDs she released in 2007 and 2013, saying the experience made her feel "very alone".
Appearing on Good Morning Britain earlier this week, Cassidy got candid about being offered the DVD gig, explaining she had "never thought" about her weight before taking the offer.
"Huge mistake," she said in a chat with hosts Susanna Reid and Ed Balls.
"Because I never thought about my weight before that time. I was very happy-go-lucky and didn't get on a scale, didn't do anything. Then I was offered that job, go and do it, earn loads of money, lose loads of weight... And I did that job and lost loads of weight and put it all back on again. It was really, really hard."
"We don't talk enough about weight, I don't think we talk in an honest way about how we feel."
Asked by Balls what she wished someone would have said, Cassidy said: "That it will change, that you'll start having food noise."
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She also admitted feeling "very alone" after filming for the DVD.
"The job finished and I was on my own. I wish I had someone to talk to, somewhere to go. Whoever that would be," she said.
Reid agreed, noting that the way society talks about bodies shifts constantly according to the latest fad, mentioning the weight loss drugs that have become popular over the last few years.
"I think culture changes and shifts every 10 years. You can go back to the 1500s can't you, we have those ups and downs," Cassidy said.
"But I think what I'm saying is it's about being able to talk to somebody - friend, family member, whoever that is - about how you're feeling, how things are making you feel. It's not about just about getting on a scale, seeing a number and keeping that in you and feeling depressed about it."
Good Morning Britain airs on weekdays at 6am on ITV1.
Beat is a charity which raises awareness and understanding of eating disorders, and supports those affected by them. It has a one-to-one secure messaging service, and details of its phone helplines can be found here.
