OVER the past couple of years Natalie Cassidy has been known more for her personal life and weight loss DVD than her skills as an actress. But that is about to change.

Starting with her part as a fairy in the production of Jack and the Beanstalk at the Thameside Theatre, in Orsett Road, Grays, from Friday, December 6 to Sunday, January 5.

Natalie says that her daughter Eliza is the reason she chose to do panto.

She says: “I took on the role in the panto for my daughter Eliza. I have never done one before and I wanted her to experience the magic of it and seeing me up there.

“People knock pantos, but I think for kids they are their first experiences of theatre and there is something really magical about them.”

It looks like Eliza has inherited her mum’s love of the theatre.

Natalie says: “I took her to see Matilda recently in the West End and she a b s o l u t e ly loved it. She is also really into ballet and I think she will get into it. I haven’t forced her to do anything, I think it’s just in her blood.

“When I come home from panto rehearsals in the evening, I say: ‘Eliza I met the princess and Jack today’ and she is absolutely beside herself!”

Natalie is also looking forward to returning to her role as Sonia in EastEnders.

She will be joined by her long-lost on-screen baby Rebecca, who Sonia gave birth to with dramatic effect, aged 15.

Natalie says: “I think a lot of people have forgotten I am actually an actress. So much I have done in the last seven years has been about my personal life, rather than acting.

“I am so grateful to be able to return to EastEnders and get back to something I love. I didn’t want to be arrogant and assume that I was going to be given the part back.”

Many people will remember the character of Sonia rolling on the floor in agony when she had the baby. It was hailed as one of the most convincing portrayals of a birth on TV.

Natalie says: “A lot of people said that, but I was only 15 at the time, so I had no idea really. It was a case of good direction and guidance that made it look real.

“I had a Caesarean with Eliza, so I have never experienced that pain in real life.”

Natalie is happy to be moving away from the reality TV, where the emphasis is how she looks rather than her talents as an actress.

“I think too much emphasis is put on women’s appearance. I am in a good place now and I have a fitness DVD out over Christmas.

“It is for normal women like me, who like to eat out and also want to be healthy.

“These diets that promise to help you lose three stone in five days just don’t work.

“And life is too short not to enjoy eating food.”