Natalie Cassidy reveals why she broke down over Jamie Mitchell's death on EastEnders

EastEndersstar Natalie Cassidy said she cried 'real guttural tears' over Jamie Mitchell's death on the long-running soap. The 42-year-old, who first appeared as Sonia Fowler in 1993, filmed Jack Ryder's death scene a few months after her own mother died, and she revealed she felt 'real grief'.

Jamie, who portrayed Jack, last appeared on screens in 2002. His character was accidentally ryn over and was rushed to the hospital, where he was told he would die of spleen damage. After getting a few visits from Phil and Billy, who both make peace with Jamie after they each apologise for the abuse, he dies with Sonia by his side.

And in a new interview, Natalie opened up about filming those scenes in October, five months after her mum's death.

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"He decided to leave the show, which was, again, really devastating for me because we were really close. Like, we were proper soulmates. Brother and sister, like, really close," she said on the Happy Mum Happy Babypodcast with Giovanna Fletcher.

"The story that was told was Jamie died in hospital and it was Christmas Day. So in that October, after losing mum, I was sort of doing these really heartfelt scenes around a hospital bed sobbing.

"And I look back and think, that was all real. You know, that was real guttural grief."

Meanwhile, Natalie recently had two of her projects axed after departing EastEnders. The actress told fans her consumer series What’s The Big Deal? is unlikely to be renewed after failing to impress on Channel 4.

Her BBC podcast co-hosted with Gavin & Stacey’s Joanna Page has also come to an abrupt end.

Speaking in relation to the future of What’s The Big Deal?, Natalie said: "I don’t think it went down very well, if I’m honest. I don’t think it will come back. At the moment there is no talk of it. But I loved it and it was a great experience for me to do."

The Channel 4 programme saw Natalie, a mother of two, test popular products to see if they lived up to the hype, in what was her first big job away from acting.

On the podcast, called Off The Telly, Natalie discussed all things TV with Joanna, famed for playing Stacey in the popular sitcom.

Meanwhile, her EastEnders character departed in April with her two daughters following dramatic storylines, including the grief of Martin Fowler, father to her daughter Bex, who died in the tragic 40th anniversary Queen Vic explosion.

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