22 August 2023 , 13:00
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Michelle Collins opened up about the lie she told EastEnders producers when she joined the long-running soap. The 61-year-old is best known for her role as Cindy Beale - a character she's taken on since the late 80s.
The star was spotted by the soap's producer, Julia Smith, while she was filming for BBC play Pressures. The producer asked her to audition for the role and was meant to feature in 11 episodes. Her character was such a hit with viewers that Michelle's contract was extended.
And now, the actress revealed she lied to Julia about being able to ride a bike. The star said: "I did lie about being able to ride a bike and Julia (Smith) gave me a bike when I came in. Julia soon realised I couldn’t ride the bike because I nearly run over Letitia Dean and Susan Tully and she said ‘you can’t ride that bike can you?’ to which I replied ‘no’ and she said ‘don’t lie to me, again’."
Michelle Collins joined the series in the 80s (BBC)Michelle revealed she thought Julia was 'quite scary' when she first auditioned for the role. "She was a formidable woman and I’m so glad I got to work with her," she said. "They said we’d love you to do it and we’d love for you to go down to the set to meet everyone."
After her 11 episodes ended, her agent didn't want her to continue as she had a lot of projects going on. However, Michelle decided it would be best for her to stay as she felt like her character was "really progressing." Her character, Cindy, was believed to have died in the BBC soap 25 years ago after giving birth to her daughter Cindy while in prison.
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She revealed the lie she told the producer when she joined (BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)In June, it was revealed that Cindy was in fact placed in the witness protection programme after striking a deal to become a police informant. Since entering the programme, Cindy had been leaving as Rose Knight – who shares another connection to Albert Square after it emerged she was George's former partner and mother of his daughters.
Speaking about her "ridiculous" return, Michelle explained: "I said to my agent, 'Oh, this is ridiculous, it's never going to happen'." Michelle went on to tell The Sun: "We had this breakfast meeting and Chris [Clenshaw – Eastenders' executive producer] got his laptop out and it all reeled off.
"We both went 'Wow, oh my God,' and then I was like 'maybe this could work', you want to know that you’ve made the right decision. I don't know whether I have."