TV star reflects on Welsh ties ahead of Monroe role

Michelle Collins plays an actress turned Monroe impersonator in her new one-woman play

EastEnders star Michelle Collins said she was channelling the "strong Welsh women" in her family as she has admitted to feeling a "bit scared" and out of her comfort zone in a forthcoming role.

Collins, who plays Cindy Beale in the soap opera, said a debut appearance at this summer's Edinburgh Festival Fringe would leave her feeling "reenergised" for a return to the Walford set.

Her show Motorhome Marilyn is about an aspiring actress with an obsessive interest in Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe.

Collins, who described herself as a fan of the late performer, also paid tribute to "really strong and matriarchal figures" while discussing her Welsh ancestry with Lucy Owen on BBC Radio Wales.

"When you go off and you do something else that really challenges you, you are really out of your comfort zone," she said.

"It's really exciting and then you go back to TV and feel re-energised.

"And I think it's really important, particularly me at my age, to feel a bit scared to do something out of our comfort zone."

The actress, who reprised her role as Cindy in 2023 after a 25-year absence, has appeared in other stage and screen shows including Calendar Girls and Doctor Who.

Her new one-woman show is based on a passing glimpse of a real person she encountered years ago on the streets of Los Angeles who was dressed as Monroe.

"I think life is about timing," said Collins. "It does feel like the stars are kind of aligned.

"I'm back in EastEnders and they let me have time off, which is really fantastic.

"I was out of EastEnders for 25 years and I did a lot of work, a lot of telly, a lot of theatre and I'm the kind of person that I just get itchy feet."

Collins explained how she "felt Welsh" as her mother grew up in Hopkinstown in Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, and they returned to visit family when Collins herself was a child.

"My mother was an incredibly strong woman and, you know I think I'm quite a strong woman and all the Welsh women I know are really strong... and matriarchal figures," she said.