BBC EastEnders' star confirms break from soap for 'strange' new role

EastEnders viewers are set to bid a temporary farewell to a notorious character in the upcoming episodes of the BBC soap. However, need not worry as it's merely a short break and she'll be back before long.

Michelle Collins has revealed that her character Cindy Beale will be exiting Walford once again in the forthcoming weeks. The soap star is embarking on an "odd" yet "thrilling" , for which the soap has granted her some time off. Consequently, Michelle will be taking a break from the show, with Cindy departing Walford for a while. Her absence will span over the summer, during which she'll be away from filming for a month. The details surrounding Cindy's exit and its duration remain under wraps.

In an exclusive interview with at the , Michelle shared insights into what lies ahead on the soap. She disclosed: "Well I'm going off in the summer. I'm doing my one-woman show at the Edinburgh festival, called Motorhome Marilyn.

"I don't think she's anything like Cindy. It's a play about a woman impersonator lookalike who lives in a trailer and dresses as Marilyn Monroe. But she's 60, it's kind of strange.

"It's about failure, lost dreams, and feeling like life has passed you by. She's an interesting character. I'm really excited to play it. EastEnders have let me have a month off so I'm very excited."

Teasing upcoming plot twists, she hinted: "There's good, fun stuff, especially Pride. We've got Pride coming up. That's good, and there's fun stuff coming up with Elaine and Cindy about George."

Michelle has no aspirations for a new romantic storyline for her character Cindy just yet. She clarified: "It's good there's no man in her life at the moment. She has got the business, she's getting more empowered as a business woman and I think it's good. I hope they don't put someone with her too quickly.

"I think she needs to find her feet again. I'm liking this fun side to Cindy and them bringing that out." Dramatic developments are on the horizon involving Cindy's love rival Elaine Peacock and former flame George Knight.

In conversation with The Mirror, she divulged: "It's really fun, there's a lot of strong women on that show we all get along which really helps. She's got a big family, she's got a lot going on. She doesn't like her daughter-in-law, her daughter-in-law doesn't like her.

"But that's life, she wishes she could get on with her daughters a but more. But they're grown ups now." Michelle also backed her character's flawed nature.

Opening up, she explained: "She's complicated, she's complex, she's chaotic but she's passionate. At least she's not boring. We need imperfect people, we don't wanna see perfect people on TV all the time. She's a bit of a mess."