Fresh off her EastEnders exit, Natalie Cassidy is heading to Channel 4 to front a brand-new consumer show – and it’s all about uncovering the truth behind the latest must-have trends.

The four-part series, What’s The Big Deal?, will see Natalie put the nation’s most hyped-up products to the test, from ice baths to teeth whiteners.

With the help of scientists, nutritionists, and industry insiders, plus six British households giving their no-nonsense verdicts, Natalie will separate the real game-changers from the gimmicks.

Natalie said: “I am looking forward to getting to ask questions we all want answers to, about must-have products.

“Like all of us, I love to try the latest things.

“But as a busy mum, what I really want to know is what lives up to the claims and what is the best deal.”

The actress quit her role as Sonia Fowler after more than 30 years on the BBC soap opera with her final scenes expected to play out over the next few weeks.

Opening up about her exit, Natalie revealed that she is glad to be free of the “burden” that comes with working on a soap.

She was speaking to her co-host Joanna Page on the duo’s BBC Sounds podcast Off The Telly.

Discussing her brand new hair-do, Natalie said: “It is nice to have a little bit of length and feel a bit different from Sonia.

“The burden of learning lines every night has gone which is a really lovely thing.

“I feel like I’ve finally got the evenings back.”

As Joanna quizzed if she was forgetting if she’d actually left or not, Nat said: “No I’m not forgetting.

“At the moment it is early days and you always miss the people and miss your friends but I am not missing the work.”

Sonia was at the centre of drama on the show last month thanks to being central to the programme’s 40th anniversary celebrations.

She gave birth to evil killer Reiss Colwell’s baby, whom she named Julia, during the show’s live episode.

But whilst Natalie is happy with her decision to quit the show for now, she has already waged war on soap bosses if they dared to recast.

She said: “If they recast Sonia, I’m going to Borehamwood [where the show is shot] with a sledgehammer.

“I feel very protective about Sonia.

“She could die off screen, though.

“We could be watching it one night and you know the old phone call: Cathy runs in saying, ‘Ian, I’ve just had a message, Sonia’s dead’.

“That could easily happen.