PlayMichelle Collins, 44, plays the star of Rock Rivals, Karina Faith who is deeply hurt by her philandering husband and takes revenge in a very unique way. Michelle talks to itv.com about her new role and those rumours about returning to EastEnders.
Have you ever wanted to drive a man’s Ferrari into a swimming pool?
Unfortunately I’ve never had a boyfriend who owns a Ferrari.
That must have been an expensive stunt to do
The car we drove into the pool was a matchbox Ferrari. When I first read the script I was determined to actually do the driving myself, but we had a stuntman do it and pretend to be me. His big hairy arms looked really funny coming out of a dress.
What about taking out your anger on a man in a different way?
The only thing like that was when I threw a Harrods Christmas pudding into someone’s face. It was still in the wrapper. I was 18 or 19 years old and he really annoyed me.
Have you ever been in a talent show?
Yes but it was years ago. I was 18 and there were 12 of us who made it through to the semis of The David Essex Showcase. There was less scope for your career then. When I first started there was only Crossroads, Coronation Street and a few costume dramas.
Would you ever do one now?
The closest I got was Celebrity Fame Academy. But my daughter Maia said, "Mum, you can’t do that, you will just humiliate me."
Maia is 11 now. Would you want her to go into showbusiness?
Unfortunately she wants to go into acting. She goes to drama group. She’s very funny and speaks very posh so she’s not like her mother. She could go on to do some costume drama with her voice.
You filmed in Dublin. How did you cope with being away from her during the week?
It was only difficult because I flew Ryanair every Friday night and you don’t get Airmiles with them! It was something I had to do. She came over to stay in the school holidays.
Weren’t you supposed to have re-joined EastEnders by now?
I was never told what was going on, I started appearing on the front pages of magazines but they were 15-year-old pictures. It was very flattering but a bit annoying because I was doing something else.
Did you model Karina on Sharon Osbourne?
Karina is very different from Sharon. Sharon has had a very different life and has several children. The only parallel is that they are both wealthy and in the public eye.
You’ve been out of the public eye for a while, is this a comeback?
I don’t think I’ve had the chance to play such a great role before. I’ve done a Doctor Who and a Bollywood movie. But this is high profile and mainstream.
Do you still want to make it big in Hollywood?
I’ve been to Los Angeles and didn’t like what I saw. A lot of people there can be deluded. We’d all like to be in a successful Hollywood movie but maybe that will come later in life for me. I’m still ambitious but I’m not going to pack my bags and take my daughter out of school.
You sound a little wary of that...
I’d like her to see the world first and get a good education. Strange things can happen to young people if they get into acting too young.
