EastEnders' Natalie Cassidy shares funny advice June Brown gave her for Sonia's birth scenes
EastEnders legend Natalie Cassidy has spilled the beans on the rather gross yet funny advice she received from co-star June Brown during her iconic labour scenes as Sonia Fowler. Fans of the soap will never forget the moment in 2000 when young Natalie, then just 15 and without any real-life experience of childbirth, had to deliver baby Bex on the sofa.
Seeking guidance, she turned to the wise June, aka Dot Cotton, who offered a vivid comparison, giving birth is like "pooing a watermelon". This hilarious tidbit was shared by Natalie on the recent Christmas Bake Off episode, where host Alison Hammond quizzed her about her most memorable EastEnders moments.
While focusing on her festive baking challenge, Natalie reminisced, "It’s got to be giving birth on the sofa, I was only fifteen." Alison, taken aback, probed further, "Ah, obviously you’d never had a kid, how did you do your research? " Channelling June with an air of holding a cigarette, Natalie recounted: "I had June Brown, Dot Cotton, and she went ‘darling, it’s like pooing a melon’ and that was all the info I needed."
READ MORE: The best Black Friday pushchair and pram deals to buy with huge savings up to £700
READ MORE: Loose Women’s Gloria Hunniford's heartbreaking way of coping with first Christmas without husband
Natalie and June are two of the longest-serving actors on EastEnders, have had illustrious careers on the BBC soap. June graced our screens as the iconic Dot Cotton in 2884 episodes from 1985 to 1993, before making a comeback from 1997 until her final bow in 2020.
Natalie, on the other hand, has been a part of the soap from 1993 to 2007, made a brief return in 2010, and then came back for good from 2014 onwards.
In a festive twist, Natalie took part in the Christmas Bake Off special last night (Tuesday 24 December), competing against four other soap stars for the coveted title of Christmas Bake Off Champion. The competition was fierce, with Emmerdale's Chris Bisson, EastEnders' Dean Gaffney, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks' Sheree Murphy, and Coronation Street's Shobna Gulati all vying for the top spot.
After whipping up an array of festive treats, from yule logs to meringue Christmas trees and cranberry compote, it was Chris who was crowned the winner. Overjoyed, he exclaimed, "I won the Bake Off, I can’t believe it," and shared how "really lovely" it was to have his loved ones cheering him on in the Bake Off tent.
However, it wasn't an easy decision for judge Paul Hollywood, who revealed that the choice was "very close" between Chris and fellow Emmerdale actor Sheree. In the end, he felt that Chris "got better and better" as the competition progressed.
