Michelle Collins, who played Cindy Beale in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, opened up about what it was like to return after 25 years.
In tonight’s episode, Cindy Beale (played by Michelle Collins) made an incredible comeback to EastEnders and acknowledged that it was “surreal” to be back on the program.
The identity of Rose Knight, whom George Knight (Colin Salmon) had asked Phil Mitchel (Steve McFadden) to help him locate, was revealed to BBC viewers to be Cindy.
Michelle recently discussed her return with Express.co.uk and other media outlets, admitting she didn’t think it would be successful.
We shot everything on location about six weeks ago, she said. In fact, I am currently filming in the square, and that feels very different from how it feels now.
It is strange and nerve-wracking, but also incredibly exciting! People frequently inquire and you respond, “Oh, never say never,” but I didn’t believe they could ever pull it off.
So when it came down to it, I believe it was a matter of timing. Life is all about timing, and if it had occurred five years earlier, I would not have agreed. However, timing is everything.
“When Chris approached [me], we had a meeting. I told my agent, “Oh this is ridiculous, it’s never going to work,” but he replied, “No, let’s just go meet Chris.
We were having a breakfast meeting when [he] pulled out his laptop and reeled it all off. We both exclaimed, “Wow, oh my god,” because it was amazing, and I thought, “Actually, maybe this could work.”
Chris also discussed the origin of the plan to bring Cindy back to Walford and how it was always “in the back” of his mind.
“I don’t know if it was always part of my master plan, it was always running through my mind, and it wasn’t until one of our writers had pitched a different story, but it was the return of Cindy,” he acknowledged.
“Everyone exhaled and supported that notion, which led me to think, “Well maybe there is something in this.
“And these processes—from idea to screen—can take some time, and everything needs to line up. I’m not sure if it was always a part of my plan, but it was undoubtedly present.
We first had to look at the story to ensure its veracity when we first started talking about it more than a year ago.
As I previously stated, “And as I said, it is a soap, we didn’t see a body, and it was about making sure that worked.”
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