Michelle Collins has opened up on her time on the EastEnders set as she admitted that she ‘can’t bear’ to watch herself back on the popular BBC soap
Michelle Collins, famed for her role as Cindy Beale in EastEnders, has confessed that there’s one aspect of her job she “can’t bear” as she offers a candid glimpse into her feelings about her iconic character.
Speaking on the We’re Not Getting Any Younger podcast with hosts Lisa Snowdon and Andy Goldstein, Michelle divulged that she seldom revisits her soap performances, saying: “I can’t bear watching it, really, oh I can’t bear it, I can’t bear my voice. I hate watching myself on-screen now I really don’t like it. My husband watches it and gives me feedback.”
She further explained her aversion to watching herself act: “I don’t know, I’m quite critical as an actor as well, I suppose in a sense I’m insecure about my acting and I don’t like watching it because I will find everything wrong, I’m a perfectionist.”
As EastEnders recently celebrated its 40th anniversary, Cindy has been central to the action, featuring in one of her most significant storylines yet. The explosive Christmas Day episode revealed her recent affair, after an audio recording exposing her secret was broadcast in the Queen Vic pub.
The drama didn’t stop there; Cindy was later found in the square, having been struck on the head.
Having recovered from her injuries and driven by a determination to pinpoint her assailant, she confronted Ian Beale in his own home, gun in hand, initially blaming him for the attack. Yet it was within the confines of this fraught situation that Kathy, portrayed by Gillian Taylforth, revealed herself as the true perpetrator, confessing: “He didn’t try to kill you, it was me. I saw what you did to him. I saw him throw you out. Out in the snow.”
Michelle’s formidable acting career has indeed made her a household name in the realm of British soap operas, with notable roles in both EastEnders and Coronation Street.
After first bidding farewell to EastEnders in 1998 after an impressive decade-long run, Michelle took fans by surprise with her dramatic return in 2023, bridging a gap of over twenty years since her departure.
Meanwhile, she captivated viewers in another iconic role as she stepped behind the bar as the new landlady of the Rovers Return on Coronation Street in 2011 – a part she would embrace for three years before her exit in 2014.
Beyond her storied soap history, Michelle Collins has graced our screens in an array of other television favourites including Death in Paradise, Casualty, Midsomer Murders, and even put her survival skills to the test on Bear Grylls: Mission Survive in 2016.
