Natalie Cassidy has told of the deeply distressing experience of her nine-year-old daughter’s emergency hospitalization. The EastEnders star, best known for playing trumpet player Sonia Fowler, revealed her daughter Joanne broke her arm in an accident at school and rushed the child to the emergency room.Cassidy spoke of the harrowing details of the incident, which occurred just weeks after Joanne underwent surgery on the same arm following a previous injury. She shares Joanne with fiancé Mark Humphries. She also has an older daughter, 15-year-old Eliza, from a previous relationship.
Traumatic events at school
Cassidy explained the circumstances of the accident with emotional honesty. She described how she and her family planned to spend quality time together at home. “I did some work at home in the morning. [Marc] Went outside, built the paddling pool, cut all the grass – thinking we were going to spend a few days at home, like a mini vacation. And then the phone rang,” she recalled on the Life with Nat podcast.The phone call brought devastating news. “Joanne’s arm is broken again. Same arm – smashed to pieces. General anesthesia, same surgery,” Cassidy described the injury in stark terms. The incident happened when Joanne slipped and fell in the hall in front of her PE class at school.
medical investigation causing repeated fractures
After the second fracture, medical professionals began investigating whether there was an underlying medical condition that made Joanne prone to fractures. Cassidy revealed her daughter had been tested for “some sort of defect” which could explain the frequency of injuries.However, the test results were reassuringly normal. “She had full blood tests and everything was within range,” Cassidy reported. “It was absolutely perfect. The consultant actually said, ‘I do think it’s just bad luck,'” suggesting that the medical team was unable to find a physiological explanation for the repeated fractures.
Natalie Cassidy’s career and past challenges
Cassidy joined EastEnders when she was 10 and announced her retirement from the soap in 2025 before venturing into podcasting with the show Life with Nat. The actress has previously discussed controversial decisions she’s made in the past, including appearing in a series of weight-loss videos in the 2000s called “Then and Now” and “The Perfect Ten.”Looking back at the videos, Cassidy admitted taking part in the series, during which she lost four stone, was “not a good move”.