Michelle Collins says she’s ‘exhausted’ after starring in EastEnders for 13 years

Actor first appeared on BBC soap in 1988

Michelle Collins has made an admission about playing her long-standing EastEnders character Cindy Beale.

Reflecting on her time on the BBC soap, which has spanned 13 years, Collins, 63, told ITV daytime series Good Morning Britain: “Cindy can be exhausting for people to watch and exhausting for me to play.”

But she said she has been “loving seeing a lighter side to Cindy” in recent months.

The British actor, who will soon step away from the show, first appeared as the infamous Cindy in 1988, but made a shock return in 2023 despite her character supposedly being killed off during childbirth 25 years earlier.

Since her return to the show’s fictional location of Albert Square, Cindy has found herself at the centre of some of the biggest storylines – but Collins has revealed playing such a chaotic role can make her feel rather tired.

Collins is set to make her debut at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this summer, playing the lead in one-woman comedy show Motorhome Marilyn.

The actor said it was “nice to go off and do something” different after the relentlessness of playing Cindy, adding: “Years ago, they didn’t let people go off and do many things – maybe the odd panto or something.”

‘EastEnders’ character Cindy Beale, played by Michelle Collins (BBC)

She said that when she broached the idea with the soap’s “very new lovely producer”, he replied: “Maybe we can make it work.”

Collins said she will “feel re-energised” when she returns to the soap, stating: “You’re doing a continuing drama, continuing throughout the year, it’s good for the soul, it’s good to go and do something else.”

Motorhome Marilyn will see Collins play wannabe actress Ruthie Richards, who is left working as a Marilyn Monroe impersonator after a failed attempt to make it in Hollywood.

ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

Although the show was written by Ben Weatherill and directed by Alexandra Spencer Jones, it’s based on an idea by Collins.

Michelle Collins on ‘Good Morning Britain’ (ITV)

Collins will perform Motorhome Marilyn at the Gilded Balloon Patter House in Edinburgh from 30 July to 25 August at 5.30pm each day this summer.

An insider told The Sun of Collins’ temporary EastEnders departure: “She will be off screens for a few weeks but BBC bosses know it’s important to let their biggest stars do other projects so they remain on the show long-term.”