Former soap star performs play for free

Ex-EastEnders star Natalie Cassidy is performing a theatre role in Southend and London for free.

Cassidy, who played Sonia Jackson for 13 years, apparently wants to move away from TV work and is willing to perform without payment to get people to take her seriously as an actress.

According to The Sun, Cassidy will star alongside Prunella Scales in a production of Gertrude's Secret.

She has also reportedly signed up to appear in a version of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard at the Chichester Festival Theatre with Dame Diana Rigg.