Natalie Cassidy FRACTURED sternum while ‘giving birth’ on EastEnders & it’s an injury people normally get in car crashes
The incident made Natalie more concerned about her bone density
NATALIE Cassidy has revealed she fractured her sternum after giving her all to an EastEnders childbirth scene.
The 42-year-old actress starred as Sonia Fowler in the BBC soap, and her character gave birth to daughter Julia as part of the show’s 40th anniversary celebrations earlier this year.
While the episode itself was live, it was during the rehearsal that Natalie ended up hurting herself – but she still managed to make it through and not go to the hospital until she was done.
Opening up on Katherine Ryan’s What’s My Age Again? podcast, Natalie recalled: “For EastEnders Live, it was an episode and I had to give birth. So there was a lot of nerves.
“And a couple of days before that, I went for it, really went for it, and my sternum popped out.
“And I carried on with the rehearsal, carried it all on, and I went to the hospital and I’d fractured my sternum.”
When the doctor was talking to her, he asked her if she’d “checked her bones”, and added: “That is mad – that’s like a car accident and you’ve done it to yourself.”
“You acted yourself a broken bone!” Katherine pointed out.
Natalie went on to say that she takes daily vitamins as she’s “a little bit worried” about her bone density.
“Or maybe you’re just a very good actress,” Katherine mused.
“You said to him, bone density? I was on EastEnders for 30 years.
“I know what I’m doing… I could break my sternum in a heartbeat!”
“Natalie Cassidy went all in during a live birth scene and popped her sternum – acting dedication at its finest!” a video of the podcast chat was captioned on TikTok.
“How does this not actually happen during labour though? ” one person questioned in the comments section.
“The only thing I can think of is when you’re actually doing it you know what parts to strain if that makes sense.”
“She managed to act like it hadn’t happened when it had (carried on the rehearsal as normal) – pretty impressive!” another said.
“Like how an opera singer shatters glass except with bones,” a third joked.
Natalie filmed her last scenes as Sonia in late 2024, and they aired in February this year.
Announcing her departure from EastEnders after 32 years on the programme, Natalie said: “EastEnders is in my bones so I will never forget where I started my career and I will continue to love the show.”
