Natalie Cassidy was "naïve" about her first lesbian storyline in ‘EastEnders’.
The 30-year-old actress feels more at ease with her character Sonia Fowler’s latest same-sex romance with Tina Carter (Luisa Bradshaw-White) – with whom married Sonia locked lips earlier this week – but she admits she didn’t understand the reasoning behind her previous storyline with nurse Naomi Julien (Petra Letang) in 2005.
Speaking on ‘BBC Breakfast’ this morning (02.05.14), she said: "I don’t know where it’s going to go, but at the time it felt right for Sonia to do that. Sonia’s dabbled with women before in the past.
"When I was younger, I think it was a little bit naïve. When I was 21, 22, I was a bit like, ‘Oh, Sonia wouldn’t do that.’ As an actress and as the character I thought, ‘Well, actually, I’m not sure if Sonia would do this.’
"Now, because I’ve had that past and I’ve got that background, that’s why this [storyline] works."
Natalie recently returned to ‘EastEnders’ and is at the centre of a dramatic plot which has seen Sonia’s mother Carol Jackson (Lindsey Coulson) diagnosed with breast cancer.
The actress has praised the BBC One soap for its strong storylines at the moment, including the murder of Lucy Beale.
She added: "I think the show’s really good at the moment. There’s a lot of excitement surrounding the show – that’s how it should be. ‘EastEnders’ should be like that and people are talking about it again. It’s an exciting place to be."
Natalie Cassidy ‘naive’ over Sonia lesbian plot
