EastEnders star Michelle Collins has hit back at trolls who accused her of trying to use the "don't you know who I am" card after she became locked in a row with easyJet.
The Cindy Beale actress, 61, found herself stranded in Spain after facing everyone's worst nightmare when she lost her passport while on holiday.
Having seen in the New Year abroad, she took to social media to tell easyJet HQ of her plight and implore them to still allow her on the plane so she could go home.
She also appealed to the police, who told her it was up to the airline to make a decision.
"Please easyJet can you help me I have lost my passport at Malaga airport the police (I have been there ) say it is up to the airline to let me fly home. My flight is at 8.30pm tonight I am heading to the airport having just left the police station. Thank you Michelle x," she wrote on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Thank you most of you for your helpful comments , I wasn’t allowed to fly , went to embassy was closed applied for an emergency document online so let’s see what happens will go there when it opens in the morning . Supposed to be filming @bbceastenders but I m alive and safe 😘
— Michelle Collins (@missmcollins) January 1, 2024
After getting nowhere with her first tweet however, she followed it up with a complaint against the airline, writing: "Nobody is very helpful @easyJet this is awful."
She was met with little sympathy from her followers online, however, who accused her of trying to use her fame as a way of getting preferential treatment.
They pointed out easyJet couldn't let her on board "just because she's Cindy in EastEnders".
"Who do you think you are? You need a passport to fly. Everyone does. You don't not need one just because you're in EastEnders," wrote one person.
Not having any of it, a stressed out Collins replied: "Oh please!!!!! Do you have to be horrible? I'm not an idiot just very stressed indeed happy new year to you."
Issuing an update on how she was getting on later, the London-born star, who has also appeared in Coronation Street, thanked those fans who had been supportive and advised that while still stuck on foreign soil, she was "safe".
"Thank you most of you for your helpful comments, I wasn’t allowed to fly, went to embassy was closed applied for an emergency document online so let’s see what happens will go there when it opens in the morning . Supposed to be filming @bbceastenders but I'm alive and safe," she tweeted.
Going home ! Sorted online , paid 100 quid for emergency document , appt this morning at 9 am at british consul .
— Michelle Collins (@missmcollins) January 2, 2024
Phew little stressful to say the least but could’ve been lot worse am safe , fit and healthy
Thanks to all the lovely people on here and friends who helped me xx pic.twitter.com/S3IAtpXQCi
She was issued with an emergency passport at the British Consul to get home.
In an update on X on Tuesday, she wrote: “Going home ! Sorted online , paid 100 quid for emergency document , appt this morning at 9 am at british consul .
“Phew little stressful to say the least but could’ve been lot worse am safe , fit and healthy Thanks to all the lovely people on here and friends who helped me xx”
