EastEnders legend Natalie Cassidy has opened up about life after the soap after filming her final scenes.

It was announced back in January that Natalie would be leaving her iconic role as Sonia Fowler, which led some fans to speculate that the character might die in the 40th anniversary’s dramatic pub explosion.

While Sonia thankfully survived and gave birth to her baby girl Julia, her exit is still imminent and Natalie recently revealed that she has now filmed her final scenes.

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Opening up about life since her exit on the latest episode of her podcast Off the Telly, Natalie told her co-host Joanna Page that she’s glad to have her “evenings back” and be free of the some of the “burdens” that come with working on a soap.

“It is nice to have a little bit of length and feel a bit different from Sonia,” she said, referring to her new haircut.

“The burden of learning lines every night has gone, which is a really lovely thing. I feel like I’ve finally got the evenings back.”

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While Natalie said that it’s still “early days and you always miss the people and miss your friends”, she is “not missing the work”.

Previously speaking about the filming of her final scenes, the soap star explained: “It was a brilliant day at work. I haven’t shed a tear, which is strange. I don’t know when that’s coming.

“But I’ve had the most beautiful presents and cards from everybody. We had a soiree last night, which was absolutely lovely. I did my scenes that were really lovely. And it’s just brilliant. I feel really excited now for the next chapter.”