A quick chat with Natalie Cassidy

A quick chat with Natalie Cassidy
A quick chat with Natalie Cassidy (Image credit: Contract Number (Programme))

Former Strictly and EastEnders star Natalie Cassidy explains why she let the cameras in as she prepared for her latest role – motherhood... Were you worried about letting cameras follow you around so soon after the birth of your daughter? "I really don’t see it as scary because I’m just me, being followed in my everyday life. I’ve found it a joy, I really have. Something like this would only be daunting for someone who was putting an act on, watching what they were saying and having to keep it up." So no misgivings? "At first I thought, 'I don’t want to do a reality show!' I think of certain people when I think of them and I’m an actress. But when I knew that E4 were getting involved I thought it would be really cool, tongue-in-cheek and clever." How does it differ from other reality shows? "It’s got retrospective interviews in it which I’m surprised no one in the UK has done before. So it’ll cut to me going, 'Oh I remember that day when that happened...' Better than having a voiceover that goes, 'Natalie is washing her knickers', and then cutting to me - that would be a bit dull and boring!’ Will there be other celebs involved? "I’ve not gone 'Let’s have a party and get loads of celebs around,' but there’s a few funny moments. Alan Carr and Gok Wan will be popping in, talking about how outrageous I was when I got drunk last year!" *Natalie Cassidy: Becoming Mum screens on E4 on Friday, November 5

Patrick McLennan

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix. 


An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.