Natalie Cassidy reveals she’s working with her idol Ricky Gervais after branding him a ‘god’ – sparking speculation After Life could return

Natalie Cassidy has made her dream come true when she revealed she is working with her idol Ricky Gervais, sparking speculation that his hit series After Life could be returning for a fourth season.

The 41-year-old EastEnders actress had previously described the 63-year-old comedy alumna as her “god” and admitted she was “desperate” to meet him.

She fueled speculation that Ricky’s hit comedy series After Life would be renewed for another season, and even hinted that she might star in it.

The Office actor shared a snap on his Instagram page that shows Natalie alongside the cast of the Netflix series, including Kerry Godliman, Diane Morgan, Tom Basden and Tony Way, all in a recording studio with scripts.

“Look at this mess,” Ricky wrote in the caption, with the soap star enthusiastically responding, “Best day ever.”

There has been no official announcement about an upcoming season of After Life, nor confirmation that Natalie will be joining the cast. But the comedian’s reports have certainly caused a stir.

During a previous interview, the EastEnders alumnus spoke openly about her admiration for the comedian, saying: ‘My “God” is Ricky Gervais. I love everything he does. I think he’s great.’

In March she said: ‘If I could have a drink with anyone I would choose Ricky Gervais. I’ve loved every one of his shows since Extras.

“I was in a lift with him at The Ivy once, but I was too nervous to say anything. I’m friends with a lot of his friends, so maybe it will happen one day. I don’t want to come across as a fan.

“I just want to meet him and say very calmly, ‘Are you okay, mate?’” she added enthusiastically.

In May, Natalie revealed that her daughter Joanie, seven, finds her character on the iconic soap “so boring” and that she “fast forwards” the roles she plays.

The actress, who has played Sonia Fowler since 1993, said The mirror: ‘She’ll say, ‘Mom… Sonia is so boring. I just don’t like seeing you here, honestly I just don’t like it.”

She added: “I say, ‘I’ve been here a long time, honey, there are a lot of people who like me.'”

Her daughter, who criticizes her most, replied, “Well, I’m not one of them.”

Natalie also revealed that her daughter fast forwards through her scenes in the soap, but she’s not sure whether that’s because she sees Sonia or because she sees her mother on screen.

Natalie also indicated that she is sure that Sonia will “end up” one day, but she doesn’t want her to “die a horrible death.”

Natalie has been on the soap since she was 10. During her time on the show she became pregnant at 15, lost her lover Jamie Mitchell, had a troubled marriage to Martin Fowler and was shocked to discover she had cancer.

Speaking to the Spinning Plates podcast with singer Sophie Ellis-BexterThe mother of two previously shared how she built a close bond with her late co-star June Brown (Dot Cotton).

She said: ‘When I was 20, June would have been in her mid-70s. She would stay at my house, we would learn our lines and drink red wine, we would go on holiday.

“She had a whole career raising five kids. She showed how to do it all.”

This comes after Natalie expressed regret over accepting a huge £100,000 fee to lose 60lbs for a fitness DVD earlier this month.

The actress paid a hefty sum to work on the project in 2007, but after just eight weeks she had already gained weight.

The deal involved the Then & Now Workout DVD, in which she posed in scantily pink workout gear to show off the results of her transformation.

And during an appearance on This Morning, Natalie told presenters Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley she ‘wouldn’t do that now’ when they discussed the DVD.

She said, “It’s my own fault. They offered me a lot of money to lose weight and I did it.”

“Looking back on it now, it’s something I would never do.”

Ben then asked Natalie if she had to maintain her weight because of her contract and she confirmed that she did.

‘Yes of course, but I didn’t keep it off. I gained another four stones.’

In 2022, Natalie shared how she welcomed the opportunity at the time, but later realized it wasn’t the best move.

She said on the Comfort Eating podcast, “I thought, Happy Holidays, I’m going to try it.”

‘I just thought, that’s a lot of money, that’s good. But it wasn’t the right thing to do. It wasn’t – you lose a lot of weight over a period of three or four months, 12 or 16 weeks, I can’t remember exactly, really low calories and just working out every day with a trainer.’

The star released two weight-loss DVDs in 2013: Then and Now and The Perfect Ten.