EastEnders star stuns fans as hilarious flag spotted in Glastonbury crowd

EastEnders star Natalie Cassidy has left fans in stitches after discovering her own face flying over the crowds at Glastonbury Festival, even though she wasn’t there in person.

Natalie, 42, who plays Sonia Fowler in the long-running BBC soap, took to Instagram after spotting a festival-goer waving a giant flag with her EastEnders character emblazoned on it. The flag read "What doesn't kill you makes you Sonia", and there was a photo of Sonia Fowler pasted underneath the statement.

Natalie shared a snap of the flag with her 531,000 Instagram followers, writing: "I will be watching from my living room all weekend but I’m there on a flag so life made. Whoever you are – thank you."

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Her post quickly sparked a wave of delighted reactions online. One fan commented: "Brilliant! What a moment for you Nat! We need to find who this is!!!" while another wrote: "Well isn’t this the best thing on the internet today!!!!" A third chimed in saying: "I actually LOVE this," and one person even joked: "It should replace the Union Jack!"

This was probably a welcomed moment of internet attention for Cassidy, who recently found herself forced to tackle a deeply upsetting online hoax. Last week the EastEnders star found a false claim circulating on Facebook that suggested she had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

The fake post claimed Cassidy had broken down in tears while revealing a secret cancer battle, and was accompanied by photos lifted from the EastEnders set. Natalie issued a furious statement on Instagram, calling the hoax "disgusting and disgraceful".

She told followers: "THIS IS DISGUSTING AND DISGRACEFUL. So many people are going through this and I have had messages asking if I’m ok. It is completely made up and a terrible story. Take this down whoever you are."

Fans and fellow celebrities rallied around Natalie, praising her for speaking out against misinformation online. The incident came just months after Cassidy’s dramatic exit from EastEnders in April.

Her character, Sonia, left Albert Square fashion after discovering that her partner Reiss Colwell was behind a murder she had been arrested for. When her name was cleared Sonia drove off with her sister Bianca and daughters Bex and baby Julia, leaving Walford behind for good.

Although she is sadly now gone from the BBC soap, Natalie has been keeping herself busy with new TV projects, which have included hosting a consumer show for Channel 4 and filming a BBC documentary where she trains as a carer.

Meanwhile, Glastonbury has been drawing huge crowds this week. Festival bosses were forced to shut down Woodsies tent after a secret set from New Zealand pop star Lorde caused overcrowding chaos. A source told The Mirror : "It’s sweltering inside the tent given the amount of people crammed inside. Bosses are urging people to stand up off the floor to make room."

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