Natalie Cassidy shows off THREE-STONE weight loss as she celebrates London Marathon finish

29 April 2019, 10:35 | Updated: 29 April 2019, 11:09

The soap actress tackled the gruelling 26.2 miles along with her Eastenders co-stars, who ran the race in honour of Barbara Windsor

Natalie Cassidy showed off her impressive three-stone weight loss as she crossed the London Marathon finish line yesterday afternoon.

The Eastenders actress, best known for playing Sonia Fowler in the long-running soap, slimmed down from a size 16 to tackle the course and puts her weight loss down to months of training and a fresh relationship with food.

Opening up about her new and improved healthy regime, the mum-of-two told the RunPod podcast: “I have learnt how to eat and how to be comfortable with who I am.

"You get wiser as you get older and I just feel much more confident and comfortable."

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The 35-year-old, whose weight has yo-yoed in the past, defeated Sunday’s gruelling 26.2 mile race along with co-stars and celebrities in honour of Barbara Windsor, who is suffering from dementia.

She completed the tough London loop in five hours and 27 minutes as part of ‘Barbara’s Revolutionaries’ – a team of runners including Adam Woodyatt (Ian Beale), Jake Wood (Max Branning) and Emma Barton (Honey Edwards).

Kellie Shirley (Carly Wicks), Tanya Franks (Rainie Cross), Jamie Borthwick (Jay Brown) and Jane Slaughter (barmaid Tracey) also joined the gang, along with 81-year-old Barbara's husband Scott Mitchell, 55.

Speaking about the huge show of support for his wife, Scott said: "It is such an amazing show of their love and friendship towards Barbara.

"It’s one thing to be friends with someone, but when people say that they’re going to give up their spare time and much needed days off and instead dedicate them to a cause that means so much, then that really is extraordinary.

"To both Barbara and me it’s so incredibly special."

The star-studded running group have completely surpassed their fundraising target, raising over £134,000 for dementia and Alzheimer’s charities in the UK, with celebrities including Elton John and David Furnish adding to the pot.

"It's such a fantastic cause that you are running the London Marathon for, Scott. We wish you and the team the very best of luck! Love Elton, David, Zachary and Elijah xx," wrote the family alongside their generous pledge.

The team issued a statement thanking "every single person" that has donated to the cause so far, saying: "You are all beyond kind and we appreciate it from the bottom of our hearts."