EastEnders' Michelle Collins talks Cindy Beale witness protection story
Actress Michelle Collins always knew this was the route to go down.
Actress Michelle Collins has discussed the execution of her EastEnders return as Cindy Beale.
The iconic villainess made her big return to the BBC One soap on Wednesday night (21st June 2023) as she was revealed to be the missing wife of George Knight (Colin Salmon), who he knew as Rose Knight.
Thursday night's extended episode (22nd June 2023) saw it revealed that Cindy was forced to go into witness protection in 1998 to protect herself and her family from her former cellmate and gangster Jackie Ford.
However, with Ford's death, Cindy is told by her handler DCI Mary Nicholls (Penny Layden) that her witness protection is over now and she can do whatever she wants.
Will Cindy stay with her current partner and her first husband Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) or could she return to George?
Speaking to RadioTimes.com and other press at an event for Cindy Beale's return to EastEnders, actress Michelle Collins discussed the circumstances surrounding Cindy's surprise comeback, in particular explaining how her death was faked.
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When asked about the new twists in Cindy’s life, Collins laughed: "Yeah, again, she's got more children (laughs) More names to remember, living this double life.
"Actually, you know, I am a podcast addict. I love podcasts. I listen to them all the time and I listened to a lot about witness protection and actually, it's not that far off. There are stories where people do things like this, and they completely go away and have these, kind of, completely different identities. So it's kind of feasible. I mean, I don't want to give kind of too much away."
Collins also noted: “I always remember saying things the only way they could do it was with witness protection."
Discussing how her experiences have changed Cindy, Collins added that she and executive producer Chris Clenshaw were keen that she was not "just gonna come back and be exactly the same as she was before".
Clenshaw told Collins that Cindy is "complex, of course, she's complex and we want that."
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The actress then added that the questions will be: "Where she was, where has she been? What has she been doing these last kind of years?
"But it's kind of genius. The way it's all been put together."
In fact, Clenshaw revealed that the team behind the scenes of EastEnders were very keen to make Cindy's return story credible.
The executive producer noted: "So it was making sure that that worked and we had to the witness protection story and then we made sure that it worked with our researchers and our advisors and, you know, came back and said, ‘Yeah, this is, in fact, what could and would happen'.
"And that's when I kind of was like 'Oh, okay, I think we've got a shot of being able to do this.'"
Read more:
- EastEnders cast: Who is joining, leaving and returning to the soap?
- EastEnders’ Heather Peace on whether Eve could kill Nish: ‘Anyone does anything if pushed’
- EastEnders’ Heather Peace hints that Eve and Suki’s big break-up isn’t the end
- EastEnders boss wants to keep Linda Carter as "heart of the Square"
- EastEnders' Danny Walters worried for Keanu in Christmas flash-forward
- EastEnders' Jamie Borthwick promises Lola "gets the send off she deserves"
- EastEnders' George Knight proposes to Elaine and reveals mystery son
- EastEnders' Colin Salmon on personal reason he took George Knight role
- EastEnders' Kellie Bright fears "everlasting" Linda and Sharon feud
- EastEnders star Kellie Bright: "The show needed a Harriet Thorpe"
- EastEnders boss Chris Clenshaw explains the “Knight in Shining Armour”
- Sam Mitchell to return to EastEnders ‘before the autumn’ after surprise exit
EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and from 6am on BBC iPlayer. Visit our dedicated EastEnders page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers. If you’re looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide.
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Lewis Knight is the Trends Editor for Radio Times, covering trending titles from TV, Film and more. He previously worked at The Mirror in TV, Film, and Showbiz coverage alongside work on SEO. Alongside his past work in advertising, he possesses a BSc in Psychology and an MA in Film Studies.
