Natalie Cassidy’s daughter scared her mother when she had an accident at school (Photo: Instagram)
EastEnders icon Natalie Cassidy recalls the horror she felt when her nine-year-old daughter had to be rushed to A&E.
The 43-year-old actress, who made her debut as Sonia Fowler in 1993, has two daughters: Eliza, 15, from her on-off relationship with ex-partner Adam Cottrell, from whom she split for good in 2013, and younger Joanie, whom she shares with fiancé Mark Humphries.
Revealing the nightmare, Natalie explained that Joanie had an accident at school and slipped just weeks after metal plates were surgically removed from the same arm following another injury.
The worried mum “felt like she was having a nervous breakdown” when she received the call.
— Joanie broke her arm again. The same hand – broken into pieces. General anesthesia, same operation,” Natalie said, ruining the family’s plans to spend a few days at home in Hertfordshire.
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“I did a little work at home this morning,” she continued on her Life With Nat podcast.
The EastEnders star shares his youngest Joanie with partner Mark Humphries (Photo: Instagram)
“(Mark) went outside, put in a kiddie pool, cut all the grass – thinking we’d spend a few days at home, like a mini vacation.
‘And then the phone rang. She slipped in the hallway before gym class. I was speechless. It’s so traumatic.”
Natalie went on to say that Joanie had a “complete fracture” in her arm a few years ago, but when she broke her arm again, surgeons had to do “all metal work.”
“And then, eight weeks ago, they put her under general anesthesia, cleared everything up—and did it again.”
Speaking candidly, the screen star admitted: “I actually felt like I was going to have a nervous breakdown. I’m being very honest here.
“I really fell apart. I wasn’t in a good place. Just her little body – and the medications, and all these injuries.”
Nine-year-old Joanie recently had metal plates removed from her arm after it broke (Photo: Instagram)
Natalie wondered if her daughter had “some kind of deficiency” that could cause frequent bone fractures.
“But she had a complete blood test and everything was within normal limits,” she shared. “It’s absolutely perfect. The consultant actually said, “I really think it’s just bad luck.”
Joanie was admitted to hospital during a scorching heat wave that saw parts of the country top 37C on the hottest June days on record.
“The hospital was pretty warm for the few days we were there,” Natalie said, praising the staff for “not moaning” but rather keeping morale up.
“They laugh, they joke. Just wonderful, wonderful people. We were looked after so well again.”
“It’s like a little trip now,” she joked, joking that visiting the hospital was like “being in a hotel” and that the anesthesiologist “actually knew” Joanie from memory.
Natalie made her debut as Sonia Fowler in 1993 (Photo: BBC).
She left Albert Square last April but hasn’t ruled out returning (Photo: Ken Mackay/ITV/Shutterstock)
However, the medical emergency does pose problems for their upcoming escape, as Joanie will need to be medically cleared before she can fly with the cast, as well as have a waterproof cover for swimming.
Natalie, who played Sonia in the soap for over 30 years, left the BBC soap in 2025 after nine years in the role.
Her exit storyline saw her character leave Walford last April for sunny Bali with her daughters Rebecca “Bex” Fowler (Jasmine Armfield) and baby Julia Fowler, and sister Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer).
She has since focused on other projects, including her podcast and BBC documentary Natalie Cassidy: Caring Together, which sees her training to be a professional carer.
Speaking about leaving Albert Square for the third time, Natalie recently told the Please Keep Me Anonymous podcast: “I was 41 and I thought, ‘No, I need to get out of here.’
“It was strange actually because the pattern was that I started when I was 10, I did 12 years, I had an eight-year break, I came back for 12 years and left.”
However, she doesn’t rule out a fourth step… albeit in 2033.
“So maybe I’ll come back in eight years; you never know, right?
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