Sonia Fowler (neé Branning, previously Jackson) is the daughter of Carol Jackson and Terry Cant, half-sister of Bianca, Robbie, and Billie Jackson, mother of Bex and Julia Fowler, and ex-wife of Martin Fowler. She made her first appearance on 2 December 1993 and last on 17 April 2025. She was portrayed by Natalie Cassidy.
Storylines[]
1993-1998: Arrival and learning the trumpet[]
She is the third of Carol Jackson's four children and the result of her mother's one-night stand with Terry Cant, whom Sonia never knew.
1999-2004: Relationship with Jamie, having a baby and marrying Martin[]
In 2000, Sonia has sex with Martin Fowler but starts dating Jamie Mitchell. She subsequently gives up her baby, Chloe (later renamed Rebecca) despite protests from Martin's mother Pauline Fowler. However, in March - May 2002, Sonia becomes obsessed with her daughter and abducts her, locking herself in her house with the baby.
Sonia and Jamie get engaged, but the relationship ends because of constant rowing and Jamie not wanting a baby. Then Sonia helps Lisa with Louise and Phil. She then gets involved in a plot to get Louise and Lisa out of the country away from Phil. Sonia is dating Gus Smith, who plans to propose, but he is devastated when Sonia falls in love with Jamie again after he is brutally assaulted by his godfather Phil for helping Lisa and Louise escape to Portugal and for saving Sonia's life. Sonia helps him, nursing him through his injuries. They then start to realise that they still have feelings for each other and begin to kiss and spend the night together. Jamie later moves in with her and he proposes to her again and she accepts. Jamie and Sonia want to start a business but they don't have enough money to pay to get it started, so they sell Ethel's ring instead. They would be a decision they would later regret. Sonia applies for a job as a receptionist at Anthony Trueman's Surgery. However, hopes of getting the ring back are crushed as Phil comes back with Louise from Portugal, attacks Jamie again at the Arches and nicks his job. Angry, Sonia confronts Phil about Jamie and Lisa but her suspicions are raised about Lisa when she sees Phil came back only with Louise. Even more suspicious, she tells the police that Phil snatched Louise. Phil realises that it was her and corners her on her way home, threatening her. Sonia is left terrified and tells Jamie about everything. Jamie warns Sonia about messing with Phil. He starts to become more suspicious of Phil when he gets a postcard from Lisa. He and Sonia go to the police about Phil beating Jamie up and also snatching Louise. Days later, Sonia messages Lisa, but find out that it's actually Mel that they are messaging. Mel tells Sonia that she used Lisa's ID because she didn't want the police to find her. Mel later tells Sonia and Jamie that she hasn't seen Lisa since Phil came to Portugal. They ask her if Phil killed Lisa. Mel quickly shuts her down, causing Sonia and Jamie to raise their suspicions even more about Phil. Sonia tries to convince everyone that Phil is guilty although they don't want to hear it. However, Marsden and Jamie manage to convince her to move on and wait for justice. Jamie shows more support for Sonia about everything. He gets more distressed as he tries to get the ring back and is close to giving up due to lack of cash. Jamie sells his tools and spots Peggy getting mugged and saves her. Peggy and Jamie make up for all the drama and talk things out, but Phil soon finds Jamie and throws him out. The next day, Jamie and Sonia spot the mugger again and he gives chase. He corners the mugger and gets Peggy's purse. Jamie and Phil make up for everything and Phil gives him 300 quid to get the ring back. He then asks Sonia to get dressed and wait for him in the café. However, tragedy strikes. Jamie comes back with the ring and buys flowers. It's then that he steps onto the road not looking where he is going and gets hit by Martin's car. Sonia soon discovers his motionless body and goes with him and Phil to the hospital. She chastises Phil for coming to the hospital after all the grief he caused. Jamie later wakes up from the operation. The doctor later tell Phil and Sonia that Jamie is dying from internal bleeding and liver damage. Martin visits him in hospital and Phil chases him out. Sonia doesn't want him to tell Jamie the truth and Phil agrees. Jamie wakes up and asks Phil if he's dying but Phil lies to him. However, he soon finds out the truth and Sonia breaks down telling him that he's dying. Sonia spends more time with Jamie and kisses him and says to him for the last time she loves him. Jamie replies back 'I love you too.' He is overcome with pain and dies. Sonia is left completely devastated and shocked by this and spends days grieving him. She makes a shrine and tries to cope with what happened and even refuses to attend his funeral as 'he is with her'. However, she soon attends the funeral and gives the eulogy. Sonia forgives Martin for what happened but struggles on her 18th birthday without Jamie. She spends months trying to cope without him and she finally forgets about what happened later. However, she expresses her hate towards Martin for killing Jamie and even confesses that she wished him dead rather than him. They both break down in tears but then kiss and sleep together the night before what would've been Jamie's 21st birthday. Over time, she bonds with Martin and they make it official at the start of 2004.
2005-2010: Affair with Naomi, departure and return for Bianca's wedding[]
Fearing imprisonment Sonia goes on the run, abducting Rebecca. Martin is frantic, but days later Sonia returns and she is arrested on a murder charge; however, that night Dot uncovers the identity of Pauline's real murderer: Pauline's husband Joe Macer, who had argued with Pauline on Christmas Day and struck her over the head, causing her death. They spend time touring the USA before settling in Manchester.
Bianca invites Sonia to her wedding to Ricky and Sonia attends alone. However, it is later revealed that Sonia and Martin are no longer together.
2011-2016: Return and relationship with Tina[]
Martin tells everyone in The Vic about Sonia and Tina, but Sonia ends their relationship. Martin sends Rebecca, who now wants to be called Bex, to live with Sonia so she can spend more time with her mother. Sonia also repairs her relationship with Tina. Martin moves in with Stacey Branning, while Sonia and Tina embark on a full relationship. Sonia and Martin's divorce is finalised.
Sonia receives a lucrative job offer at a private hospital in Kettering and, having realised she no longer loves Tina, ends their relationship. Bex is furious and thinks Sonia is abandoning her. Bex later calms down and she says an emotional farewell.
2017-2022: Stealing from Dot, being conned by Tom and Dotty and Dot's death[]
Several months later, following Madison Drake, Alexandra D'Costa, and her former friend Louise Mitchell, continuously bullying Bex, Sonia returns after Bex phones her in tears. Sonia accuses Martin and Stacey of not caring about Bex and tells Martin she wants Bex to live with her. Sonia meets Bex's teachers before returning to Kettering. Sonia returns to Walford and lets herself into Dot's house, finding Dot on the floor after tripping. It is revealed that Sonia is hiding a secret from her time in Kettering, meaning she no longer wants to return there.
Sonia starts dating Bex's teacher Gethin Pryce, unaware that Bex is infatuated with him. Bex and Gethin kiss and after Bex's attempts to pursue him and he eventually confesses to Sonia. Gethin subsequently resigns his job at the school and leaves Walford, and Sonia tells Bex that she has done nothing wrong. In December 2017, Sonia discovers Kim Fox, having a miscarriage and supports her when she believes that she has let her husband Vincent Hubbard down. In January 2018, it is discovered that Stacey has slept with Max, which subsequently fractures Martin and Stacey's relationship. Sonia's niece Tiffany Butcher is involved in a drug ring and Sonia discovers this when Bernadette Taylor informs her. Sonia and the Branning's try to help Tiffany and promise to pay off the drug dealers to whom Tiffany and her friend Evie Steele owe money, in order for Tiffany to stay. They lock Tiffany in and finally release her when she agrees to speak up about the drug ring.
She blames herself. Martin returns to Walford, and Sonia is angry with Martin for being absent. She is forced to give him a false alibi when police question him about stolen vehicles and convinces him to tell the truth. Later Bex decides to leave Walford for a fresh whilst go travelling around the world.
In June 2020. Sonia starts searching for her alleged father Terry Cant, though he isn't seen until May 2021 when a man claiming to be him shows up at the The Queen Vic and introduces himself to her though at first she doesn't believe him and awkwardly hides under a table, but he tells her he received the letter she wrote. They later stalk to each other but Sonia explains that Carol had told her that he walked out on her. Terry explains to her that he loved Carol and they could have remained together but Carol started a relationship with Alan Jackson after he left. Later Sonia tells Terry that he can't just come back into her life after so long and act like family, though he promises to give her some space and if she wants to get back in touch then she can. Eventually, they manage to build a relationship with each other. During this time, he starts a relationship with Kathy Cotton. In September 2021, it's revealed that Terry isn't really who he says he is: his real name is Tom Cotton and he's pretending to be Sonia's father in a scheme with niece Dotty Cotton in order to obtain her grandmother Dot's inheritance, of which Sonia is in charge. Janine Butcher stays with Sonia when she returns. Throughout the build-up to Christmas Day, Dotty's mother Sandy Gibson threatens to reveal Tom's lies to Kathy and Sonia. On Christmas Day, his lies are exposed; Kathy kicks him out and she and Sonia disown him.
Due to Sandy's revelation, Sonia refuses to talk to Tom for months. Eventually, Tom and Sonia manage to become friends, though Sonia is reluctant. Sonia is constantly forced to look after Janine's daughter Scarlett Butcher when Janine leaves her. She also dissuades Janine from trying to get with Mick Carter, saying that Linda Carter is the one for him and not Janine. Throughout their relationship and later marriage, Sonia tries to get Janine to realise that Mick will always go back to Linda. Janine later moves to the Queen Vic. Ricky Butcher stays with Sonia upon his arrival.
Sonia is devastated by the news of Dot's death, and struggles to cope. On the day of Dot's funeral, Sonia struggles with her speech and asks Martin for inspiration. She later mentions Nick Cotton (Dot's son and Dotty's father). When Sonia struggles to speak, members of the service including Mary Smith, Lofty Holloway, Colin Russell, Disa O'Brien, and Lauren Branning retell stories about Dot. Sonia later sleeps with and starts a relationship with Reiss Colwell
Sonia is invited to the Carter Family's for Christmas Day 2022, and is present during Linda and Jada Lennox's revelations on Janine's involvement in Linda's car crash, which are later supported by daughter Scarlett. Sonia is also present when Ricky calls the police on Janine for perverting the course of justice and watches her get arrested alongside Scarlett and Ricky.
2023-2025: Relationship with Reiss, having his child and departure[]
Ricky later returns to Germany, accompanied by Scarlett.
During Tom and Kathy's preparations for their wedding, Tom admits to Sonia and Reiss that he is still legally married to his ex-partner, Jo Cotton. They unsuccessfully attempt to find her, but she is later found by Freddie Slater. Reiss later suspiciously calls someone, who later turns out to be his wife, Debbie Colwell. Reiss tells Sonia about Debbie and they later visit her. Reiss explains that Debbie had a stroke in the bath, and Sonia tells Reiss she understands, but she ends it with him as he still lied to her. Reiss later convinces Sonia to take him back, and they visit Debbie again and watch pointless, which Reiss falls asleep during.
During a lunch with Sharon Watts and Keanu Taylor, Reiss says some homophobic comments regarding Sonia's sexuality, saying that she needs to pick which gender she feels attracted to. Later, with the help of Keanu, he apologises to Sonia and they reconcile. Sonia allows Lisa Fowler and Peggy Mitchell Jr to stay with her. During this time, Reiss tells her that he hates children and children hate him. Sonia is later shocked when Lisa is arrested.
Sonia confides in Whitney Dean when she admits that she may be pregnant. She is in shock and denial, but Whitney manages to calm her down. They later try to explain this to Reiss, who turns out to be drunk and lists all the reasons as to why he hates children. Sonia and Whitney agree to tell him when he is sober. In his drunken fugue, Reiss accidentally knocks over Sonia's bag and notices the unopened pregnancy test.
The next day, Sonia supports Zack Hudson as it's the due date of Peach Dean. Reiss sees this and gets jealous. Later, when Whitney supports Sonia to take the pregnancy test. Reiss barges in, looks through Sonia's phone and demands to know who the father is. He explains that he is infertile and cannot have children, so Sonia must have cheated. She denies this, and the tests comes up as negative. She realises that the reason he took this fertility test is because he wants to have children, but not Sonia's.
Sonia and Reiss talk, and they agree that they have a strong relationship together despite it being short, and wouldn't want to risk it by having a kid. Later, Sonia and Reiss realise that their relationship is strong enough that a child (or the loss of one) will not affect them. They decide to go through IVF, saying that they are perfect as a duo but could be even more perfect as a trio.
Kathy, Tom, Bobby, and Jasper move in with Reiss and Sonia after Ian Beale kicks them out. Bobby later jokes how Reiss harmonises with Rocky when he is in the shower. Sonia complains to Harvey Monroe that Jasper keeps Reiss and Sonia up all night.
Sonia tells Martin about her IVF, and he doubts that this is the right thing for her. Reiss worried about Sonia, and she wonders whether this is because of her age or the money. Sonia and Reiss go to the IVF clinic. Reiss mistakes a fertility test (sperm) being a blood test and gets worried, claiming he nearly fainted when he had his COVID-19 vaccine. Reiss gets "stage-fright" when depositing, so Sonia "gives him a hand", claiming that it is OK because she is a nurse.
Sonia gets increasingly annoyed with Reiss after he associates her reproductive system with pipes. Both later reconcile and continue forward with the IVF. On 8 December 2023, Sonia and Reiss plan to have the first IVF injection, but Reiss quickly leaves after getting a call from the hospital telling him that Debbie has contracted an infection. She later confesses to Kathy that it would be better if Debbie did die. When Reiss returns from the hospital, he feels guilty as all he could think about in hospital was Sonia.
As the upcoming months become stressful with her IVF journey, Sonia manages to pull through. She is disappointed when a scan reveals her womb lining is very thin and the nurse doesn't seem satisfied. Sonia and Reiss panic although are delighted when Sonia finds out she is pregnant. They reveal to close family about the pregnancy. Things initially go well for Sonia and Reiss and they attend scans, joyful as the embryo develops. Sonia is even more thrilled when Bianca returns to the Square to visit and moves in with Sonia and Reiss, though Reiss doesn't approve. Despite this, Sonia's life seems to be improving.
Soon after, Whitney is in desperate need of support when she finds out that Zack cheated on her. Sonia provides a shoulder to cry on and supports Whitney with her decisions. Sonia is saddened when Whitney decides to leave for good and says her goodbyes, happy but also sad. Back at home, Bianca's behaviour gets more erratic and worse as she struggles to cope with Whitney's departure.
When going for their next scan, Sonia is distraught to learn that there was never a baby to begin with, meaning that the IVF had failed - due to the previously mentioned womb lining thinness. She is overwhelmed with sadness when she returns home, but plans to try again, with Reiss having the funds - to her unknown, Reiss had used all of Debbie's money he had stolen for the IVF, so there was nothing left. When Reiss visits Debbie and confesses the truth, Bianca catches him and forces him to tell Sonia. Sonia is initially annoyed but understands that Debbie would want this happiness for her husband. Later, once Bianca realises that Sonia sides with Reiss over her, she publicly exposes them in the Vic, but Bianca is doubted. Bianca then leaves angrily and is no where to be seen. Sonia learns from Kat that Bianca had been clinically depressed, hence her behaviour. Sonia feels guilty and then tries to communicate with Bianca, but fails to.
As things seem heated, Sonia and Reiss look for other methods to gather money for another lot of IVF treatment, Reiss panics with Debbie's debt and funding the IVF. Sonia is angered when Reiss tries to rent out the spare bedroom for extra monthly income, Sonia states how important the house is to her due to Dot. Some time later, Sonia is panicked after trying IVF again - Kathy comforts her, and Sonia's pregnancy test comes back positive which she is thrilled about, although Reiss dampens the mood when he reveals that he urgently needs £13,500 for Debbie's care home fees.
Sonia later panics and even puts her home on the market and gets buyers to view it. Lauren and Martin criticise Sonia for this decision, but she doesn't back down. However, Sonia is startled when she is informed that Debbie has died - she breaks the news to Reiss who is distraught. Sonia then removes the house from the market and convinces Reiss to say goodbye to Debbie at the mortuary. Debbie's parents, Brenda and Hugh Collins arrive at the scene and Reiss lies about who Sonia is, however they later discover that Sonia is his girlfriend and Brenda does not approve of this, almost accusing Reiss of being a cheat.
The following day, Sonia and Reiss argue over their money troubles - gossip spreads so Sonia is forced to put herself forward in the Vic, reminding all of the locals of their past wrongdoings and how they aren't perfect like her. Soon after, Sonia indirectly proposes to Reiss, but he later makes it official and properly proposes with Debbie's ring, Sonia initially has reluctancy but later assures herself. Sonia later discovers that Reiss sold the ring to Eve. Sonia is unhappy and manages to get the ring back. Brenda returns and starts legal complications with Reiss, Sonia is then reluctant when Reiss wants to run away.
After some more triumphs and supporting Reiss through a panic attack, Sonia receives good news that her baby is developing healthily. The mood is shattered when they are both arrested for supposedly murdering Debbie. Sonia is questioned and is very defensive, after speaking to her brief she firmly believes that Reiss isn't the murderer. Sonia is then wrongly charged for Debbie's murder, despite Reiss' attempt to sort things out and extreme persuasion from Jack.
Sonia moves to Bali with Bianca and Bex.
Kill count[]
Attempted murder victims[]
- Sarah Cairns (22 October 2004) - Bashed Pauline's fruit bowl over Sarah's head.
Fight count[]
Punches[]
Total: 1
Individual characters punched: 1
Total punches: 1
Slaps[]
- Jamie Mitchell (5 February 2002)
- Jamie Mitchell (14 February 2002)
- Jamie Mitchell (15 February 2002) (x4)
- Sarah Cairns (22 October 2004)
- Martin Fowler (23 December 2005)
- Pauline Fowler (25 December 2006 - Part 2)
- Bianca Jackson (4 March 2025)
Total: 7
Individual characters slapped: 5
Total slaps: 9
Knees[]
Total: 1
Individual characters kneed: 1
Total knees 1
Employment history[]
| Occupation | Years active |
|---|---|
| Student at Walford High School | 1993-1998 |
| Waitress at Kathy's Café | 1993-1998 |
| Nurse | 1998-2007, 2014-2024 |
| Waitress at Cindy's Café | 2014-2015 |
Residence[]
| Location | Years |
|---|---|
| Walford Towers | Prior to 1993-1994 |
| 25 Albert Square | 1994-2004, 2010, 2011, 2017-2024, 2025 |
| 55 Victoria Road | 1999 |
| 3 Albert Square | 2006 |
| 45 Albert Square | 2006-2007 |
| 80 Railway Court, Manchester | 2007-2010 |
| 31 Albert Square | 2010, 2014-2016 |
| Kettering | 2010-2014, 2016-2017 |
| Brewery Apartments | 2017 |
| Prison | 2024-2025 |
| Bali | 2025- |
Quotes[]
- First line to Robbie Jackson (21 December 1993) - "I don't want a sweet"
- Last line to Martin Fowler (2 February 2007) - "I really love you"
- First line to Jim Branning (9 February 2010) - "Look, Grandad, I promised the girls I used to train with that I'd pop into town"
- Last line to Phil Mitchell (18 February 2010) - "Cheers"
- First line to Ricky Butcher (21 January 2011) - "Bianca sent me"
- Last line to Carol Jackson (21 January 2011) - "Nothing"
- First line to Carol Jackson (14 January 2014) - "Mum!"
- Last line (17 April 2025) - "Shall I?"
Background information[]
- On 3 May 2023, it is confirmed in dialogue that Sonia is five foot three inches tall.
- On 8 June 2023, Sonia states her sexuality is bisexual.