Latest news with #MichelleCollins
Daily Mail
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Huge EastEnders icon is to 'take a break' from BBC soap as she eyes up new career which is worlds away from Albert Square
Michelle Collins has revealed she is taking a break from EastEnders to star in a one-woman show at the Edinburgh Festival next month. The actress, 63, who portrays the BBC soap villain Cindy Beale, is set to become the ultimate blonde bombshell, Marilyn Monroe in the dark comedy Motorhome Marilyn. Michelle admitted 'it's exhausting being a b**ch all the time' in EastEnders so she is 'very nervous' and 'terrified' to take on the new role. She told The Mirror: 'It's been years in the making so I can't wait to get it out there but I'm very nervous. Think Shirley Valentine meets the Coen Brothers meets Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire. 'It's one of the most terrifying things I've done. My lines are in my handbag everywhere I go.' The play, inspired by Michelle's real-life encounter with a woman known as Motorhome Marilyn, is about a Monroe-obsessed actress' heartbreaking failure to live up to the icon's fame and beauty. The company's synopsis of the show reads: 'Motorhome Marilyn follows Ruthie Richards, a shy English girl who headed to Hollywood years ago to try her luck in the movies. What is left when things don't quite work out as planned. 'Ruthie now moves between parking lots, convention centres and parties eking out a living as a Marilyn Monroe impersonator but what is the true cost of failure.' Motorhome Marilyn is by Ben Weatherill and directed by Alexandra Spencer-Jones. The actress has big dreams for the show as she added that she hopes 'it will eventually go on TV', but has assured BBC fans she will be back on Albert Square after a month-long break. The soap star joined EastEnders as Cindy in 1988 but left 10 years later and went on to appear in Coronation Street and Casualty. Cindy's cheating ways – mainly at the expense of ex-husband Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) – earned her a reputation as an Albert Square homewrecker. She even tried to kill Ian before fans were led to believe that she had died during childbirth in prison. But when Cindy returned to Walford in 2023 after a 25-year break, it was revealed she had actually been put into witness protection under a new identity. She is now also the ex-wife of George Knight (Colin Salmon) and has sparked plenty of drama since her return by having an affair with George's estranged son, Junior (Micah Balfour). It comes after Michelle celebrate the EastEnders 40th anniversary earlier this year speaking to the Radio Times. She revealed that while TV often doesn't favour women over a certain age, soaps like EastEnders give them a voice and share their stories. She told the publication: 'TV isn't great for women of a certain age, but soaps are. What EastEnders and characters like Cindy show is that we have got voices, we have got stories – and they should be heard. 'I loved it for the first few years. When I came back in the 90s, I was in my early 30s and very ambitious, I never saw myself there for the future.'
The Sun
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
EastEnders star Michelle Collins raked in staggering SIX figure sum for soap return as her salary is revealed
SOAP legend Michelle Collins has spoken about her return to EastEnders as the infamously evil Cindy Beale - and the 'risk' has paid off handsomely. As well as playing the Walford villain, actress Michelle also runs a firm called It Worx Limited - which she started in 1996. 4 4 It takes in cash from her telly work and its bottom line has been swelled by money from her lucrative EastEnders contract. The business was down to £20,000 just before she inked her new deal. But figures sent to Companies House and published this week for the 12 months to March this year show cash reserves of almost £200,000. And she has a Corporation Tax bill of £69,694 – meaning her earnings were around five times that sum. Even though Michelle was thrilled when the show's former executive producer Chris Clenshaw asked her to come back to Albert Square, the star wasn't sure how Cindy would be received by viewers. Speaking at the TRIC Awards at Grosvenor House in London, Michelle said: "I didn't know if people would be happy that she was back. I really didn't know, you have to take that risk! "But, I think she's gone down quite well." Cindy - who is the former wife of Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) and the ex-wife of George Knight (Colin Salmon) - has caused a lot of drama since her return, such as having an affair with George's son Junior (Micah Balfour). But Michelle thinks Cindy's bad behaviour has gone down well with EastEnders' viewers. She said: "I think people are liking her. Cindy Beale leaves Walford in shock EastEnders moment - but she vows revenge "People don't want to see nice Cindy. She was nice for a while, and they don't want to see nice Cindy - I promise you, they don't! "Sometimes I'll pick up the scripts, and I'll go, 'Oh no, you can't. Really? Having an affair with his son? No, it'll be fine, people love her.'" The actress first joined EastEnders as scheming Cindy in 1988 for a two-year stint. She returned in 1992 for six years before taking a longer break. The 63-year-old thrilled fans with a shock comeback to the BBC soap after a 25-year hiatus in 2023. It was revealed that Ian Beale's ex did not actually die during childbirth in prison and was instead put into witness protection under a new identity - Rose Sawyer - for decades. The star is set to take to the stage this summer in a one woman show at the Edinburgh festival, called Motorhome Marilyn - a play about a Marilyn Monroe impersonator. EastEnders bosses have let her have a month off, but Michelle has kept tight-lipped about how writers will create Cindy's exit storyline. 4 4
BBC News
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Eastenders' Michelle Collins on Welsh lineage and Marilyn Munroe
EastEnders star Michelle Collins said she was channelling the "strong Welsh women" in her family as she has admitted to feeling a "bit scared" and out of her comfort zone in a forthcoming who plays Cindy Beale in the soap opera, said a debut appearance at this summer's Edinburgh Festival Fringe would leave her feeling "reenergised" for a return to the Walford show Motorhome Marilyn is about an aspiring actress with an obsessive interest in Hollywood legend Marilyn who described herself as a fan of the late performer, also paid tribute to "really strong and matriarchal figures" while discussing her Welsh ancestry with Lucy Owen on BBC Radio Wales. "When you go off and you do something else that really challenges you, you are really out of your comfort zone," she said."It's really exciting and then you go back to TV and feel re-energised."And I think it's really important, particularly me at my age, to feel a bit scared to do something out of our comfort zone."The actress, who reprised her role as Cindy in 2023 after a 25-year absence, has appeared in other stage and screen shows including Calendar Girls and Doctor Who. Her new one-woman show is based on a passing glimpse of a real person she encountered years ago on the streets of Los Angeles who was dressed as Monroe."I think life is about timing," said Collins. "It does feel like the stars are kind of aligned."I'm back in EastEnders and they let me have time off, which is really fantastic."I was out of EastEnders for 25 years and I did a lot of work, a lot of telly, a lot of theatre and I'm the kind of person that I just get itchy feet."Collins explained how she "felt Welsh" as her mother grew up in Hopkinstown in Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, and they returned to visit family when Collins herself was a child."My mother was an incredibly strong woman and, you know I think I'm quite a strong woman and all the Welsh women I know are really strong... and matriarchal figures," she said.
Edinburgh Live
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Edinburgh Live
BBC EastEnders star 'crazy' as one-woman show set to debut at Edinburgh Fringe
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info A BBC EastEnders star is set to take her one-woman show to the Edinburgh Fringe this summer. Speaking on This Morning, Michelle Collins who plays Cindy Beale in the popular soap, said "she knows she is crazy" for performing at the festival. The 63-year-old actress admitted she always wanted to go to the Fringe but the opportunity never happened. Now she is set to be in the capital from July 30 to August 25 as she makes her debut in 'Motorhome Marilyn'. Speaking on the ITV daytime show, Michelle said: "BBC have kindly given me one month off to do the Edinburgh festival and I have never done it. "I always wanted to go and it didn't happen and then this opportunity came up. It's a play called Motorhome Marilyn. "I met this woman who was dressed as Marilyn and she was my kind of age and she was driving a motorhome in LA by the Chinese Theatre. "I was really intrigued by this woman. How did she get to this place? Who is she? "I never saw her again and then I wrote a play about her. I know I am crazy, I am mad. Don't worry because if you don't like Cindy it doesn't matter because I am not Cindy, I am playing someone else." A description of the show on Gilded Balloon reads: "Michelle Collins makes her Edinburgh Fringe debut in Motorhome Marilyn, a dark comedy by Ben Weatherill. Sign up for Edinburgh Live newsletters for more headlines straight to your inbox "The play follows Denise, an aspiring actress with an obsessive relationship with Marilyn Monroe, hoping to live up to the icon's fame and beauty. In the 1980s, she heads to Hollywood, but as her dreams falter, she is forced to confront the painful truth of unfulfilled aspirations. "Inspired by Michelle's real-life encounter with a woman known as Motorhome Marilyn, the play reveals the toll of living in the shadow of an icon, exploring failure, aging, and the heartbreaking cost of unattained dreams." Join Edinburgh Live's Whatsapp Community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages. Michelle Collins has many notable TV roles including in the BBC dramas Real Women, Sunburn and Two Thousand Acres of Sky. She first appeared in Eastenders in 1988. You can find out more about the show here.
Metro
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
EastEnders legend confirms she's taking a break from the BBC soap
EastEnders legend Michelle Collins has revealed she is set to take another break from the BBC soap. The actress, 63, first appeared as devious Cindy Beale in 1988, with her most recent stint kicking off in 2023. Despite being presumed dead for 25 years, the schemer made a shock return and revealed she had been in witness protection. After settling back into Walford life, she's had an affair with former step-son Junior Knight (Micah Balfour), shot ex-husband Ian (Adam Woodyatt) and inadvertently caused an explosion at The Queen Vic when she pushed him in front of a car which crashed and ignited the boozer. She was also attacked by former mother-in-law Kathy Cotton (Gillian Taylforth) with a shovel at Christmas, which led to an extended break between February and May of this year. After discovering that Kathy wanted her dead, and the events of The Vic disaster, Cindy fled the area and wasn't seen until she gatecrashed son Peter's (Thomas Law) engagement party to Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa). Now, Michelle is set to depart once again – but she'll be back. Swapping The Square for the stage, she'll be appearing in one woman show Motorhome Marilyn at the Edinburgh Fringe in August. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video It's unknown whether she'll be written out again, or if we'll simply see Cindy vanish from our screens. 'I'm going off in the summer. I'm doing my one woman show at the Edinburgh Festival,' she explained to The Daily Mirror. 'I don't think she's anything like Cindy. It's a play about a woman impersonator lookalike who lives in a trailer and dresses as Marilyn Monroe. But she's 60 – it's kind of strange. 'It's about failure, lost dreams, and feeling like life has passed you by.' She continued: 'She's an interesting character. I'm really excited to play it. EastEnders have let me have a month off so I'm very excited.' In a recent interview with BBC Breakfast, she spoke about the importance of shows like EastEnders empowering older women. 'I'm just really happy that we are embracing older women on screen' she said. 'I think that's really important, and giving them big stories, which is what EastEnders did when Cindy came back. Want to be the first to hear shocking EastEnders spoilers? Who's leaving Coronation Street? The latest gossip from Emmerdale? Join 10,000 soaps fans on Metro's WhatsApp Soaps community and get access to spoiler galleries, must-watch videos, and exclusive interviews. Simply click on this link, select 'Join Chat' and you're in! Don't forget to turn on notifications so you can see when we've just dropped the latest spoilers! 'I think that's really important, and for the Edinburgh Fringe to be – you know, it's quite scary doing a one-woman show at my age and, also, why not? 'Why can't we be ambitious at my age as well and be scared and out of our comfort zone?' On her soap alter-ego she added: 'But she's, kind of, been named as 'The Queen of Chaos', I think, and loves the drama in her life. 'But she's a multifaceted figure, she's a strong woman. 'I think she actually is an unapologetic character and not frightened to speak her truth. Her truth may not always be what other people like about her, but I think people, kind of, love to possibly hate her. More Trending 'Listen – nobody's perfect. Every woman has their flaws.' In scenes that air this week, Cindy prepares to reopen The Prince Albert gay bar – which she forced Kathy to sign over to her – but her launch party is initially a failure. After some support from her ex-hubby George Knight (Colin Salmon), things start to take off… much to the annoyance of his current spouse Elaine (Harriet Thorpe). EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One and iPlayer. View More » MORE: Coronation Street star Barbara Ferris dies aged 85 MORE: EastEnders split confirmed for major couple as a family is torn apart MORE: Patsy Kensit reveals Emmerdale and EastEnders return chances – and which she'd like more
