Michelle Collins is best known for playing one of the most iconic EastEnders characters of all time - Cindy Beale.
The feisty blonde caused a stir in Albert Square almost immediately, and while engaged to Ian Beale, Cindy cheated on him with Simon Wicks and fell pregnant with their son Steven.
She lied to Ian about being the father of her child, and the couple got married, only for the truth about her infidelity to come out, forcing her to flee Walford.
Cindy later returned and gave birth to twins Peter and Lucy, but she made a big mistake when she hired a hitman to kill her husband Ian, which led to her arrest and subsequent imprisonment.
Michelle filmed her final scenes in April 1998, and in November that year, Pat Butcher revealed to Ian that Cindy had died during childbirth while in prison, leaving him devastated.
However, Michelle made a shock comeback to Albert Square on Wednesday, reprising her role as the legendary villain as Cindy was revealed to be Rose Knight, George Knight’s wife.
Following her surprise return, we take a look at the star’s life away from Albert Square...
Leaving EastEnders
While she had dramatic storylines on-screen, Michelle’s life away from the cameras was much different, and she confessed her decision to leave the BBC soap was fuelled by the intense pressure she felt while playing Cindy.
“You don't need dramas in your real life when you are playing a character like Cindy! I decided to leave because I felt I needed to get away from the drama of Cindy and the life I was having,” she told Inside Soap magazine last year.
MIchelle said the burden of the playing one of the show’s most iconic characters eventually became too much, and she chose to walk away.
“It was lovely because I had great storylines, but it was constant and really full-on. I wanted to get away from being Cindy 24/7,” she added.
Hospital dash
The 60-year-old actress worried fans recently when she revealed she had been rushed to hospital following a health scare.
Michelle took to Twitter and said it was a “worrying time”, but assured her followers she was on the mend after thanking medical staff for their help and care in April.
“Thank you @nhs @RoyalFreeNHS for seeing me this morning at 9am, been a worrying time but hopefully now all ok,” she began.
“When it works the @NHSEngland is fantastic. Don’t destroy it #Tories #savethenhs,” the actress added.
The following day, she took to social media again to confirm to her fans she was feeling “very well”, and was back filming in Devon.
“Great day #filming in #Northam. I am very well ! #Thankyou. Great cast and crew,” she captioned a snap of her on the picturesque set.
Toyboy husband
Michelle hit the headlines when she began dating Mike Davidson in 2012, after being introduced by her niece who had worked with him previously.
The actress is 22 years older than her toyboy beau, but despite the age gap, the couple got engaged and married last year, with Michelle looking spectacular in an age-defying white jumpsuit.
She’s previously spoken about the criticism she faced dating a younger man, and told the Daily Star she was fed up of the sexist treatment.
“Mike is 22 years younger than me and I'm regarded as a predator. It drives me mad,” the actress fumed.
“He turned to me the other day and said, 'Surely I'm not still your toyboy, am I?'”
Michelle previously dated cameraman Mark Waters and was engaged to Parry Cockwell, and shares daughter Maia Rose with ex Fabrizio Tassalini.
Struggle with depression
The actress candidly spoke about her mental wellbeing following her appearance on MasterChef in 2021, as she confessed she regretted taking part in the celebrity version of the BBC One show.
MIchelle said she “mentally wasn’t right” as her late mum Mary was seriously ill battling terminal cancer, leaving the star in a “really bad way”.
In an interview with Notebook last year, she said: “I did Celebrity MasterChef, and I was really in a bad way. Mentally I wasn't right and I shouldn't have done it..
“We all go through times in our life when we suffer from mental health issues, and we should talk about it,” she explained.
Her battle with eating disorders
Michelle has been honest about her years-long struggle with anorexia and bulimia, in which her weight plummeted to just five stone and she was so emaciated people thought she was addicted to heroin.
In the grip of anorexia, Michelle said she would starve herself for weeks on end, before bingeing on food, then vomiting and purging her body with laxatives.
She said she was “dangerously ill” at the beginning of her TV career, and her agent gave her the wake-up call she needed after Michelle attended an audition.
“Later that day my agent called to see if I was OK and told me that actually I had looked so awful the casters had thought I was a heroin addict and wanted to know if I was on drugs,” she recalled.
"That was the wake-up call I needed.”
Now, she’s fully recovered, and said she’s banned having scales in the house because they’re “bad for me”.
“If you’ve been anorexic, it’s always in your head and I have days when I still feel fat. But I’ve learnt how to deal with it and look after myself,” she shared.
Single mum
Michelle joined the cast of Coronation Street in 2011, playing Rovers Return landlady Stella Price, who was also mum to Leanne Battersby.
Despite being a hit with viewers, the actress departed the soap just three years later, and confessed she had to leave because of her responsibilities to daughter Maia.
Michelle, who shares Maia with ex Fabrizio Tassalini, said it was too difficult splitting her time filming scenes in Manchester with home life in London.
“I'd always said I'd only do three years on the show, which is what I've done,” she told Manchester Evening News in 2014.
“Everyone knows I'm a single mum, and ultimately my daughter is my priority and it was tough dividing my time between Manchester and London.”
