Glancing back at her time as Cindy Beale on EastEnders, Michelle Collins said that she frequently felt ‘out of control’ as she gained popularity on the BBC soap opera.
Michelle Collins has shared with listeners how she often felt “out of control” in the face of her rising celebrity, speaking candidly about the intense pressure she endured in her early days as Cindy Beale on EastEnders.
The seasoned actress, who is currently 62 years old, opened up about her thoughts regarding the extreme media attention she experienced in 1988 on the How To Be 60 podcast. Michelle spoke candidly about her experience, telling Loose Women’s Kaye Adams that during those trying moments, she would frequently turn to her mother for comfort.
Reflecting on the conversations with her mother, she revealed: “Lots of times I felt out of control, and I remember sometimes going to my mum and she would really worry about me a lot of time. And I’d sit and just talk to my mum about things and she’d always say ‘Well, whatever happens, whatever people have said about you, I will always love you’.”
Discussing the significance of having a strong support system, Michelle remarked: “You have people in your life, whatever kind of happens, you get through it.”
Reflecting on the conversations with her mother, she revealed: “Lots of times I felt out of control, and I remember sometimes going to my mum and she would really worry about me a lot of time. And I’d sit and just talk to my mum about things and she’d always say ‘Well, whatever happens, whatever people have said about you, I will always love you’.”
Discussing the significance of having a strong support system, Michelle remarked: “You have people in your life, whatever kind of happens, you get through it.”
Despite facing numerous trials, Michelle, who astoundingly reappeared in EastEnders in 2023 after her character was believed dead, holds no serious regrets about her journey in acting and feels all her experiences contributed to making her the woman she is today
The former Coronation Street star joyfully acknowledged her playful nature and the impact of her stories on the show’s younger stars. She told the podcast: “I feel like the experience I’ve had in my life makes me the person and the woman that I am today. I like to say I’m mature but I’m still really silly a lot of the time and I still like to enjoy myself but I feel like the younger ones, the girls who play my daughters, always say my stories are hilarious.”
“And they say ‘Did that really happen? ‘ and ‘Oh here comes Michelle with another story…’ They love it! ” The actress reflected on her past with a nod to Edith Piaf’s famous song, adding: “Non, je ne regrette rien! I kind of feel a bit like that. My life has made me the person I am today.”
She reminisced about her early fame and expressed a wish that she had taken things slower for her mental wellbeing, confessing: “I have a few regrets but I’m not going to dwell on them because I think I’m a bit like whatever’s gonna be will be. Back then, I probably should’ve done a lot more yoga, meditated a lot more and taken more time out for myself.”
The star added: “Back then, people didn’t take time for themselves, did they? You didn’t talk about mental health.”
Society has evolved since then, and she notes that “Nowadays, sharing is caring. Everyone shares. I often feel we share a bit too much but back then, you didn’t. And admitting that you had a problem or things weren’t going well was seen as a sign of weakness.”
