Natalie Cassidy could easily be sitting in the legendary Kathy's Cafe, frequented by Eastenders characters since the soap began.
But this is her real life and today she's in her own stomping ground, sitting in a cafe in Islington, not the fictional Walford.
There's no greasy breakfast for her either. Following her transformation from frumpy soap star to slimline stage actress it's healthy eating all the way.
Recent photos taken of Natalie in her bikini on the beach have proved how much her figure has changed since she quit the show last year.
She's been quick to show off her fit and toned new body in slinky dresses on the red carpet and why shouldn't she be proud?
She lost two and a half stone and downsized from a size 16 to a size 10 during the making of her exercise DVD, called Then and Now.
During our chat it becomes obvious that losing weight, leaving Eastenders and starting a new chapter of her career in the theatre, are all linked.
But although her dramatic weight loss has made her the subject of many flattering headlines, it's clear she wants people to see her as more than just a successful dieter.
'It was hard work,' she laughs when asked about how she slimmed down. 'I cut out all the rubbish as well and started exercising. I feel so much better.
'It's always nice when you hear someone say you look good but I didn't do it because I wanted to hear people say aren't you fabulous.
'There is a worry though in that there's been more interest in me because of it. I've probably had more magazine coverage about it than anything else. I'd like that to die down now.'
Natalie will dip her toe into classical theatre for the first time next month when she takes to the stage at Chichester Festival Theatre.
She'll play Dunyasha, the housemaid in Anton Chekhov's epic drama The Cherry Orchard, which deals with the return to Russia of an aristocratic but debt-ridden family.
It couldn't be much further from the soap opera that made her a household name but that's part of the thrill for this bubbly young actress.
'I think coming out of Eastenders after being in it for 13 years, the thing you want more than anything is the chance to prove you can do something classical, and show a different side to you,' she explains. 'That's why I came out of Eastenders - to do different characters and do them well.'
She's level-headed enough to know that people will always make the link between her and Eastenders though and says: 'I don't think you can ever complain about the link that will be there. It's got me where I am really.
'But I've just finished my exercise DVD, which has gone really well, and I was also worried about that being a bit tacky, because I kind of think they're not the classiest thing in the world. I wanted to change the way I looked and shed some of Sonia.'
She adds: 'Everyone is so nice and I think it's because she was a nice character and people watched her grow up. No one is ever rude.
'They think you are their friend and say: "How's it going Son?"
Natalie arrived in Eastenders in when she was just nine and stayed there for 13 years.
She was the only member of the sprawling Jackson clan to own an ounce of common sense. Until she got pregnant, that is, and her life went into freefall.
During her time in the soap her character was a teenage mum, a bereaved girlfriend, a wife, a murder suspect and even a lesbian for a while.
She left the soap in the back of a black cab with her on-screen ex-husband Martin Fowler and their daughter Rebecca to start a new life together away from the square.
The door wasn't closed on Natalie and with two of the show's most popular characters, Bianca Jackson and Ricky Butcher, returning to the soap recently, would she consider a comeback in the future?
'I don't think you'll ever know if the door is open or not,' she says. 'When I left I said to myself this is it but there might be a time when I'm desperate to go back and there might not be the opportunity.
'If you don't have it in your head, if you don't expect anything, then you can't be disappointed.
'I think it can make you quite lazy if you don't work then think you can go back. I want to feel like I'm being challenged all the time.'
Swapping the TV studio for the theatre is a big challenge so does how she feel about making the leap?
'I'm feeling excited actually and quite nervous just because it's my first classical piece and I just want it to go as well as it possibly can,' she says.
'I feel quite honoured to be doing it. It's just going to be amazing for me. It's going to be a masterclass in itself and hopefully I'm going to learn something.'
She adds: 'Dunyasha isn't a main part but the thing about The Cherry Orchard is that they are all ensemble pieces and you can really get into it.
'I think it's about a month of rehearsals and that's going to happen down in the South Bank. What a lovely way to spend a spring. I'll jump on the bus and go down there every day. It's a different way of life for me.'
It's clear that she's enjoying life at the moment. She bought her own place in Islington, moved in with her boyfriend and is excited about coming to Chichester.
'I'm just a working actress,' she says. 'I'm the same as any other actress. I'm 24 and I'm very lucky that I've had a very long career.
'It seems a bit weird because I never really think about how long I was in Eastenders or that I'm so young and that I can't remember not being recognised.'
She adds: 'I'm quite pleased that it's time to move on, make that next step up.'
And with a chirpy: 'See ya darling' she's off.
The Cherry Orchard is on at Chichester Festival Theatre from Thursday May 15 to Saturday June 7. For tickets call the box office on 01243 781312.
sarah.foster@thenews.co.uk