EastEnders' Natalie Cassidy is worlds away from Walford in new role with Traitors star

Natalie Cassidy is best known for playing Sonia Fowler on soap EastEnders but she will soon be seen in an acclaimed BBC comedy-drama having joined the new series of Boarders

Soap star Natalie Cassidy looks worlds away from her EastEnders' character Sonia Fowler in her latest role.

The actor, 41, will appear in the second series of Boarders, which is due to be released next month. She's a guest star on the show just like Alan Cumming, 59, who, alongside his acting career, is now known as the host of the Traitors US.

The BBC comedy-drama follows five black scholarship students at an elite private school that has a reputation problem. The first season, which received acclaim, was released in February last year and saw the main characters "set out to make the most out of the opportunity, despite their places only being offered as a poorly-disguised PR exercise". The cast is led by Josh Tedeku (who plays Jaheim), Jodie Campbell (Leah), Sekou Diaby (Toby), Myles Kamwendo (Omar) and Aruna Jalloh (Femi), who will all return for the new season.

It's been announced that Natalie will play Sharon Hail in the new series – a teacher at a rival school to St. Gilbert's. Whilst Alan will play a character with same name as him who has "very high standards" for a party he's hosting and the students who find themselves there.

On joining the BBC show, Natalie said: "I loved series one of Boarders and was so thrilled to be asked to appear in series two. There is such talent amongst all the cast and crew and I loved playing a very eccentric teacher. Don't miss it!"

Fellow guest star Alan teased: "I've always said that letting people know you are a fan of theirs is a good idea. And, so it was with Boarders. I mentioned this to the producers (who also happen to produce The Traitors), and very soon after, I found myself on the set having such a fun time!"

Their castings were announced by the BBC earlier this month and it's understood that a trailer for the new series has aired ahead of the show's return. Other new cast members for Boarders' second series include BAFTA-winner Wunmi Mosaku as Jaheim's mum Grace, Cara Theobold as Jude and Michael Salami as Femi's Uncle Teju. Kendra Brown stars in her debut on-screen role as exchange student Devon'yè.

The BBC has teased ahead of the new series launching in two weeks: "Series one saw these five outsiders begin to thrive. Series two asks how much they're willing to sacrifice just to survive."

The first series of Boarders is available to stream on BBC iPlayer now. The second series is set launch on BBC iPlayer and BBC Three on February 3.

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