After securing a lucrative deal to return to EastEnders, Michelle Collins’ production company witnessed a massive increase in cash earnings.
The 62-year-old actress’s company funds had only £20,000 left when she consented to a shocking return to Albert Square in 2024.
Cindy Beale star Michelle – whose character was declared dead off camera in 1998 – runs a firm called IT Worx Limited, which she started in 1996.
It takes in cash from her telly work and its bottom line has been
swelled by money from her EastEnders contract.
Accounts filed this August, which cover the 12 months to the end of
March 2024 show Michelle now has cash reserves of
£125,072.
Equally, she has footed a tax bill of more than £56,000 meaning she earned around five times that amount in 2024 .
In contrast, she handed over £12,240 to HMRC in 2023.
The Londoner used to run her own cosmetic brand.
She founded MC Skin Truth Limited in 2015 but it closed in 2021 and
the last set of accounts for the firm showed it had assets of just
£100.
The actress – who has also starred in rival soap Coronation Street – has a daughter Maia Rose by ex-partner Fabrizio Tassalini,
who died from liver cancer aged 54 in 2014.
Michelle is now married to her partner of 11 years Mike Davidson.
The BBC One star said of her EastEnders return: “It was a big decision to return and I wanted to go back with a good storyline.
“People love to hate Cindy.
“She is unapologetic and behaves in a way you shouldn’t really behave, but you sometimes can’t help that when you follow your heart, not your gut – let’s face it, how many women do that?
“You should always say ‘never say never’ as an actor, because you
never know.
“The first time round, I was desperate to leave EastEnders
to prove I could do other things.
“I left when I was 33, then went back
after my daughter was born – and it wasn’t the same.
“I’d moved on and I wasn’t enjoying it. I’d had a taste of the outside
world. It didn’t feel right, so I left again.”
She added: “Now, it feels right being back. I’m comfortable in my skin, more in the moment.
“I’m still hard on myself, but I’m in a very different place
now.
“And you don’t see many 62-year-old women getting good TV roles.”
Recently, we reported on a host of stars who quit the BBC soap for Hollywood fame.
Additionally, earlier this summer, loyal soap fans appeared to note how Stevie Mitchell had “quit” the long-running series.
It came after Alan Ford enjoyed just six-months on-screen.
Meanwhile, Bobby Beale actor Clay Milner Russell also left this year after five years in Walford.
Fans also feared Martin Fowler actor James Bye would “quit out of boredom” over recent storylines.
