EastEnders legend Michelle Collins has spilt the beans on her upcoming venture, which takes her a step away from the familiar cobbles of Albert Square.
Best known for her portrayal as Cindy Beale, Michelle’s character is notably absent from EastEnders lately, explained by Cindy’s trip to see a friend beyond Walford. Michelle’s fans are in the dark about when she might reappear on the BBC soap, but in the meantime, the star is setting her sights on the thrill of theatre.
The 62-year-old shared some personal revelations during her visit to ITV’s Love Your Garden With Alan Titchmarsh on Sunday, March 30, where she divulged her pre-performance jitters to the TV host.
During their chat, Alan remarked: “Now you’re about to go to the Edinburgh Festival this coming summer with a one-woman show. Now that is exposing…” only for Michelle to jump in with a lighthearted “Mad!”
She went on to say: “I do like a challenge, I do like doing things out of my comfort zone. I have done lots of theatre but never Edinburgh, it’s always something I’ve really wanted to do. And do you know what? I just love being creative,” reports Plymouth Live.
In her upcoming one-hour production titled Motorhome Marilyn, Michelle embodies a down-on-her-luck actress who ventured to LA in her youth to find fame but ended up as a Marilyn Monroe double, never quite hitting the big time.
Discussing her character, she said with amusement, “She’s a little bit um… kind of, not as bad as Cindy but she kind of has her issues. I like playing kind of slightly dysfunctional women on the edge, which I’m sorry is a lot more fun to me” before confessing she’s “scared and excited” about it.
Michelle has confessed she was absolutely “petrified” returning to ‘EastEnders’ after a lengthy 25-year hiatus to play Cindy, who viewers believed was dead.
She shared: “It was a 25-year gap, it was a long time. I’d changed as a woman, as an actor. Cindy had changed obviously, she’d been under witness protection, she’d had more children. It was a big decision to go back. It took almost a year from when they asked me until when I came into Albert Square but I’m really enjoying it.”
Michelle kept herself busy with a spread of TV and theatre roles during her break from EastEnders, including taking up the part of barmaid Stella Price in the rival ITV soap Coronation Street. She departed after a three-year stint.
Known for being a Londoner, Michelle faced criticism for her northern accent on Corrie and revealed that returning to EastEnders feels more “comfortable”.
Talking about the accent switch-up, she admitted: “I thought I could have a London accent but when I got the role they said ‘oh no you’ve got to be northern’ and people were like, ‘oh no Michelle Collins/Cindy Beale doesn’t have a northern accent’ and so everyone was a bit confused. I enjoyed it, it was very full on. I feel more comfortable where I am now, I definitely do and it’s nearer home as well.”