‘I wouldn’t do it now’ Natalie Cassidy regrets losing four stone for £100,000 DVD deal
EastEnders star Natalie Cassidy opened up on This Morning on Thursday 9 May about how she felt about the £100,000 deal she made in 2007 to film two weight loss DVDs, and the regrets she has had since about it. The actress, best known for her role as Sonia Fowler in the BBC soap, has stated the deal was “a mistake,” and host Ben Shephard asked her about comments she had made about it in a 2022 podcast.
He said in their chat: "You were talking about your weight loss video, that you were doing as well, and talking about the pressure you were feeling when you had that gig, that job." Natalie answered: "Well, it's my own fault. They offered me a load of money to lose weight and I did it at the time but actually, looking back, it is something I wouldn't do now." Ben then asked her if she had been contractually obliged to keep the weight off once the fitness DVDs were on sale, to which she replied: “I didn’t keep it off, I put another four stone on.”
It was during food writer and presenter Grace Dent’s podcast Comfort Eating in 2022 that Natalie admitted that she had not approached losing weight in a healthy way when she took the DVD deal. She said: "I was very overweight and they approached me and said 'Listen, we're going to give you £100,000, we're going to get you really fit and you're going to lose four stone'.”
"I was like happy days, let's go for it. I just thought, that's a lot of money; but it wasn't the right thing to do. It wasn't - you are losing a lot of weight in a three or four-month period, twelve or sixteen weeks, low calories and training every day. I got there, and as soon as that DVD came out, I ate for England. I put all the weight back on in eight weeks."
In 2023, Natalie spoke about her weight loss journey days after she completed the London Marathon in honour of her late co-star Dame Barbara Windsor. She wrote on Instagram: “Two marathons and two half marathons. I have never ever been a sporty person. I have always been ridiculed for my ever changing weight. I’ve woken up this morning and genuinely can’t believe I’ve collected these medals. I promise you - I’m not a natural runner. If you put your mind to something you can do it. Whatever that is.”
Natalie first completed the marathon in 2019, after slimming down to a size eight. In an interview with The Sun shortly afterwards, she said: “I feel very at ease with myself now, as I’ve got older. Throughout the years I’ve gone through a lot of ups and downs. Now, I just know the simple things that work – eat well, exercise, drink lots of water. All the boring things.”
