She morphed from chubby teen to super-skinny size six who struggled to keep off the 4st she lost, but Natalie Cassidy says her battle with her weight is finally over.

Now, seven months pregnant and a healthy size 14, Natalie says she’s happy and won’t rush to shift it once her baby arrives.

“I’m out of that whole diet madness now, thank God,” she says. “I’m over that constant ambition to be a size six or eight, which was terrible. So when the baby comes I just won’t worry about it.

“If I was dead skinny ­naturally, great, but I might just as well be a size-16 mum who sits around happy and eats cake. Why not?”

EastEnders star Natalie says for the first few months, her priority will be bonding with her baby, not hitting the gym like some celebrities.

“With a baby, it can’t be easy to do that much ­exercise,” she says. “Unless you’ve got loads of money and a personal trainer on your back all the time it must be impossible. And apart from having no energy, I don’t know where mums put their babies when they’re at the gym.

“I couldn’t just shove my baby off somewhere because I want to lose weight, I want to be a proper mum. Seeing these other women losing weight quickly after having their babies doesn’t annoy me, it’s just not for me.

“If their priority is getting thin, that’s fine as long as they’re happy and their babies are happy. I think the pressure comes from other women more than men. Most blokes will love us whatever weight we are when we have their babies, and they don’t seem to care how thin a woman is. Girls can be quite bitchy about stuff like that though.”

But Natalie, 27, says she won’t give in to pressure. Having been to both extremes weight-wise, she knows being skinny won’t make her life complete.

“The past couple of years have been difficult,” she says. “I had a lot of support losing the weight, but as soon as I was finished I didn’t have a clue. I was like a kid in a sweet shop floundering and I just went mad – I ballooned right up.

“It was horrible but I don’t regret what happened, I’ve learned a lot. Because I’ve been right down to eight stone, where I never thought I’d be, I know size doesn’t really matter.

“It didn’t suddenly make me totally happy. I’ve been a size six and a 16 so I know how both feel and it doesn’t change you.”

But Natalie knows one thing that will change her is the arrival of her baby with fiance Adam Cottrell, 30, in September.

“It’s so exciting,” she laughs. “I always wanted to have babies when I was quite young, so this feels like a perfect age for me. We don’t know the sex yet and we’re not going to find out. It’s one of the only surprises left and I think it’s lovely when everyone asks ‘Ooh what did you have?’”

Natalie, who is filming E4 documentary Natalie Cassidy: Becoming Mum, which is about her pregnancy, says the past six alcohol and fag-free months have felt like a serious health kick. “I didn’t expect being pregnant to have this effect,” she laughs, “but it’s like a massive detox and I’m feeling great.

“I’ve loved not drinking and I don’t think I’ll drink alcohol after I have the baby. I’m not promising to be teetotal or anything, but it’s changed my attitude to alcohol. I used to drink a lot and there were times when I would go out and drink and always have a situation at the end of the night, I was that person.

“I’d be crying or I’d have a go at someone, I wasn’t a happy drunk. I didn’t drink that often, but when I did it wasn’t good, right up until just before I got ­pregnant. Some people can drink and some people can’t and I admit it, I’m one of them.

“I’ve had such a lovely six months with no alcohol, I really don’t miss it. I love getting up early and, of course, when I have the baby ­everything’s going to completely change anyway. I was a really heavy smoker so it’s been a relief to knock that on the head.

“On a night out I’d easily smoke 40 fags or about 15 on a normal day. I’ll never say never but I hope I don’t smoke again. Being pregnant is the best detox I’ve had.”

And right through her pregnancy Adam has been a huge support to Natalie, who feels emotional about motherhood after the death of her beloved mum Evelyn from a heart attack eight years ago.

“Adam’s been great, he’s really helping me through all this,” says Natalie, who is backing the British Heart Foundation’s summer drive to get people volunteering for the charity.

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“Most people have their mums around to help out and they take them for granted. I’ve got friends who just casually say ‘Oh yeah, the baby’s at mum’s’.

“I’d do anything to have my mum around to help me out. They’re so lucky because you trust your mum more than anyone.

“It’s sad not having her here and I think every milestone that happens for me it will get harder.

“The happier I am and the more successful I get the more I want my mum here to see me. I know she’d be so pleased.”

But being with Adam takes the ­pressure off, even though they’ve had a bit of a whirlwind

They met just a year ago at the Isle of Wight festival, moved in together after a month and

Natalie got pregnant six months into their relationship.

“When you know, you know don’t you?” she grins. “We’re just so close. Of course it all happened really quickly, but getting pregnant didn’t come as a massive shock. I’d decided to come off the pill so I could hardly act as if it was a surprise. You should be prepared for it to happen the next day! I was pregnant within a month, so I reckon me and Adam were really lucky.

“We’re obviously very compatible!”

The smitten couple are planning to get married, but so far haven’t managed to set a date.

 “We’re so busy we haven’t had a chance to make plans, but it won’t be before the baby comes.

“It would be lovely to have our little one at the wedding too, so it could be next year or the year after. In every relationship I’ve had I’ve never felt ready to have a baby, but now I’m so settled I

know I can handle it.

“It’s a lovely feeling, not to have to look around at men and worry all the time, ‘Oh will he ring me? Does he still like me?’ It’s brilliant to have someone there who I know loves me. I feel the most settled I ever have and although big changes are coming with the baby, our little family will be lovely.”

And even though lots of the intimate details of Natalie’s pregnancy and her relationship with Adam will be documented in her E4 show, she’s sure he isn’t interested in celebrity.

“Adam just doesn’t get the whole being in the public eye thing.

“He’s in this documentary quite a lot so people are bound to start ­recognising him. He’s totally oblivious. He’s very laid-back about it because he’s so busy in his own job as a transport boss he doesn’t really care. I’m a bit nervous for him ­actually because I think it’ll be a bit of a shock.

“But I think he’ll come across really well because he’s genuinely lovely. People have their opinions and we’ve put ourselves out there so let’s face it, some people will hate the show and hate us too.

“That’s what people do, don’t they? They just love it, sitting around all day watching TV and slagging everyone off. So I’m not bothered in the slightest.

“It is what it is and it’s going to make a nice nest egg for our family, so it’s only a good thing.

“I drew the line at letting them film the birth though!”

British Heart Foundation’s Hand on Heart campaign wants volunteers this summer. Go to www.bhf.org.uk/volunteer, email volunteer@bhf.org.uk or call 0300 456 8353.

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Ex-EastEnders actress Natalie Cassidy: Size 6 was madness..I’d rather be a happy mum eating cake

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