The nation’s soap fans feel like they know the stars better than their own families – but how much do the actors behind the characters really earn?
Natalie Cassidy is best-known as Sonia on EastEnders, a role she first played in 1993 as a ten-year-old
The 41-year-old actress bowed out of the iconic London soap earlier this year, but has been able to forge a lucrative career on the back of her TV stardom.
Having started out acting aged eight in her first role as an urchin in The Beggar’s Opera at the Barbican, for which she was paid ‘about £22 for a couple of hours’, Natalie rose to become of EastEnder’s highest paid stars on a reputed £150,000 per year.
That put her only slightly behind top earners like Steve McFadden, who plays Phil Mitchell, and Ian Beale actor Adam Woodyatt, both of whom are rumoured to be on the same £200,000 annual salary.
Her net worth has been estimated by some sources to be as high as £5million – some of which stems from her acting roles on BBC shows like Psychoville and Motherland, as well as appearances on reality shows like Strictly Come Dancing and Celebrity Big Brother.
However, Natalie has successfully spun out her TV stardom into a range of money-making projects including books, workout DVDs and in recent times two popular podcasts, which have attracted major sponsorship deals.
In October Natalie is set to release her autobiography, Happy Days, which is likely to packed full of interesting details about her time in the fictional borough of Walford in which EastEnders is set.
Natalie first joined EastEnders in 1993 when she was just 10 years old and remained with the show on and off until 2025 (pictured here in 1999)
Having started out acting aged eight in her first role as an urchin in The Beggar’s Opera at the Barbican, for which she was paid ‘about £22 for a couple of hours’, Natalie rose to become of EastEnders’ highest paid stars on a reputed £150,000 per year
That puts her salary close to that of EastEnders top earners like Steve McFadden, who earns a reported £200,000 per year as iconic Albert Square hard man Phil Mitchell
The book triggered a six-way auction war which was eventually won by HQ, an imprint of publishing giant HarperCollins – meaning the Masked Singer star is in line for a six- or even seven-figure advance.
The star has also released two lucrative workout DVDs.
In 2007 she released Natalie Cassidy’s Then and Now Workout, for which she was paid £100,000.
Opening up on the Comfort Eating with Grace Dent podcast, Natalie spoke about how she was offered the huge sum in order to shed a whopping four stone.
Natalie said she ultimately regretted taking the money as ‘it wasn’t the right thing to do’ and she put all the weight back on in only eight weeks after filming.
‘I was very overweight and they approached me and said “listen, we’re going to give you £100,000, we’re going to get you really fit and you’re going to lose four stone,”‘ she said.
‘I was like happy days, let’s go for it. I just thought, that’s a lot of money, but it wasn’t the right thing to do.
‘It wasn’t – you are losing a lot of weight in a three or four-month period, twelve or sixteen weeks, low calories and training every day.’
In 2007 Natalie released her first workout DVD, Natalie Cassidy’s Then and Now Workout
Natalie said she ultimately regretted taking the money to make the fitness DVD as ‘it wasn’t the right thing to do’ and gained the weight back in weeks
Natalie Cassidy arriving at the launch of Celebrity Big Brother in 2012. The actress said she did the reality TV show as she was ‘in dire straits financially, having a really bad time’ but found it hard because it required her to be away from her then nine-month-old daughter
Another money-spinning fitness DVD followed in 2013 called The Perfect 10.
However, things have not always been financially plain sailing for the EastEnders icon and in 2012 she chose to do Celebrity Big Brother, reportedly to pay a large tax bill.
Speaking on her Life With Nat podcast in 2024, The Masked Singer reflected on her reality TV experience – which required her to spend 16 days away from her then-nine-month-old daughter Eliza.
‘I was in dire straits financially, having a really bad time, and I did Big Brother,’ she said.
‘I went in there, genuinely, for the money and to get out again, quick as I can.’
While Natalie has remained coy about the exact figure, only calling it ‘life-changing’, there was speculation that it was as much as £150,000.
Asked about her financial habits, Natalie characterised herself as ‘a spender’ although said she wasn’t ‘frivolous’ with her money.
However, she admits that she does like to splash out on expensive wine and candles from French luxury fragrance brand Diptyque, which retail for almost £400.
Natalie says one of her indulgences is the large candle holders from French luxury fragrance brand Diptyque, which retail for almost £400 once postage is factored in
She told The Sunday Times that the key lessons she has learnt about money is ‘you can’t take it with you and that you should enjoy it’.
The 41-year-old actress said she is ‘sensible with a pension and I haven’t got a lot of debt,’ but has no interest in stockpiling massive wealth.
She added: ‘You know, they save it all up. What are you saving it for? You could get run over tomorrow. I like to live in the moment.’
The mother-of-two confessed to having never used a credit card because she started on EastEnders as a 10-year-old and was making ‘good money’ by age of 16, whereas in the UK you have to be 18 to apply for a credit card.
While Natalie would not be drawn on her exact earnings last year, she described it as ‘a very fortunate amount’ but said that people overestimated how much money she brought in.
She said: ‘It’s interesting when you’re in the public eye, people think you earn loads and loads of money — they really do think you have ten times the amount you do.
‘And as much as it’s a great amount, people think you’re talking in telephone numbers, and it isn’t. Extra money from sponsorship is starting to creep in, and it’s certainly making a difference to my income.’
Natalie now lives in Hertfordshire in a house estimated to be worth around £1million and is engaged to her partner, EastEnders cameraman Marc Humphreys.
Natalie Cassidy quit EastEnders earlier this year after nearly 32 years playing Sonia Fowler
The actress has been in a longterm relationship with BBC cameraman Marc Humphreys since 2014
The couple live together with their two daughters, Eliza, 14, from Natalie’s first marriage, and Joanie, 8.
The pair have been together since 2014 and got engaged the following year, but have yet to marry, something Natalie partially attributes to her desire for an expensive luxury wedding.
Speaking to Jen Brister and Kerry Godliman on the Memory Lane podcast, she said: ‘Do you know what? It’s a lot of money.
‘No, I tell you what it is; it’s time and budget. It is because I go, ‘I’ll only do something small; I don’t need to…'”.
‘I will do it small but I want to be at The Ledbury. Oh, I want a Michelin star meal or I’m just a bit of a snob genuinely.
‘I’ll want the best flowers and I will want a designer suit.’
The couple still have a mortgage on their home, but Natalie has owned properties since acquired her first flat in Islington for approximately £120,00 at the age of 18.
Natalie also previously owned a ‘really beautiful house’ in Winchmore Hill, on a private road in north London, that she bought for around £435,000 and sold in 2022 for about £620,000 in order to pay another big tax bill.
The EastEnders star took part in the BBC show Strictly Come Dancing in 2009 – pictured here with partner Vincent Simone
However, she says she regrets the sale since she claims the same houses now routinely sell for around £1.5million.
The soap legend also acknowledged that she is better off than her parents, but said growing up she was ‘quite spoilt but in a lovely, loving way’.
Natalie said the first time she realised she had money was on Mother’s Day when she was 13 and took her mother for a spending spree at M&S.
She said: ‘I remember taking a bus from Essex Road and going to the big Marks & Spencer at Moorgate and being able, with my own money, to really treat my mum.
‘I bought her loads of presents, like a coat and a massive bunch of flowers. That was the first time I felt rich.’
The star says that her weakness remains ‘treating everybody’ and regularly picks up the tab when eating out with friends and family because she loves ‘putting a smile on someone’s face’.
Natalie has in recent years become a successful podcaster, and credits starting one as a her single best business decision.
She hosts two podcasts, Life with Nat, in which she chats with friend and family about various topics, and Off the Telly, with co-host Joanna Page, which covers TV and backstage gossip.
Life with Nat has been a big hit and is increasingly attracting sponsors which are helping to boost Cassidy’s net worth.
Representatives for Natalie Cassidy declined to comment.
