Michelle Collins admits to ‘arguing constantly’ with Adam Woodyatt on EastEnders set as she makes epic soap comeback
MICHELLE Collins has admitted to ‘arguing constantly’ with Adam Woodyatt on the EastEnders set as she makes an epic soap comeback.
The 61-year-old actress is returning to the BBC soap as Cindy Beale – despite the character being killed off 25 years ago.
Michelle will reunite with Adam Woodyatt, who plays Cindy’s ex-husband Ian Beale and is also returning to Walford after a two year absence.
The pair’s on-screen relationship was nothing short of dramatic, with Cindy and Ian fighting for custody of their twins and Cindy trying to get Ian bumped off by a hitman after their marriage turned sour.
And it seems their off-screen relationship was initially fraught at times too, with Michelle telling The Sun Online and other media: “It’s funny because in the old days we would row coming out of our dressing rooms, we would row going to the set, we would row on set and then we would row coming off set going back to our dressing rooms.
“We spent our entire lives squabbling. It was kind of bizarre.
“But both of us have mellowed and I think we’re both just kind of comfortable in our lives and it felt like it’s the right kind of time.”
Over the years, Michelle and Adam have become firm friends, and both described working together on EastEnders again as “putting on an old pair of slippers.”
Michelle opened up about how her shock return came about, saying: “It’s about timing. Life is about timing. And it wasn’t the right time.
“I think if it had happened five years ago I probably would have said no.
“But it’s about timing and when Chris [Clenshaw] approached Adam and I and we’d both been touring and he’d mentioned it to me and I said don’t be silly.
“And then we had a meeting and I said to my agent, ‘oh this is ridiculous, it’s never going to happen’. And they said let’s just go and meet Chris.
“We had this breakfast meeting and he got his laptop out and he reeled it all off. And we both went ‘wow, oh my god’. And then I was like maybe this could work.”
EastEnders airs on BBC One and is available on BBC iPlayer.