Former EastEnders star Natalie Cassidy has revealed she sustained a horrific injury while rehearsing for the show’s 40th anniversary scenes.

Cassidy debuted as Sonia Fowler on the soap in 1993, taking two breaks in 2007 and 2011 and returning in a more regular capacity in 2014. She left EastEnders two months after the anniversary episodes, which saw Sonia give birth to baby Julia in the collapsing Queen Vic.

Speaking to Katherine Ryan on her What’s My Age Again podcast, Cassidy explained she “really went for it” during rehearsal, ending up fracturing her sternum.

“I was straining when I was acting out giving birth and I did it live for EastEnders live and I had to give birth live so there was quite a lot of nerves,” Cassidy recalled.

“A couple of days before that I went for it, really went for it, and my sternum popped out, not out of the skin but it popped out and I carried on with the rehearsals.”

When she went to hospital, she discovered she had a fracture more commonly seen in car accidents.

“I went to hospital after and I had fractured my sternum and the guy said to me, ‘Have you checked your bones because that is mad, that is a car accident and you’ve done that to yourself’,” she said.

“I do take all the osteoporosis stuff because I’m worried about my bone density.”

In September, Cassidy reflected on her departure from Walford and whether a potential return to Albert Square could be in the cards for Sonia.

“It’s been freeing leaving EastEnders. I feel liberated and just happy,” the soap star told Prima.

“Albert Square will always hold a place in my heart, and I love it there. There could be a storyline where I come back for a week – those things are great.”