EastEnders’ Cindy star Michelle Collins’ unusual royal nickname inspired by everyday habit

EastEnders’ Michelle Collins, who plays the role of Cindy Beale, holds an unusual royal nickname from she’s away from Albert Square – and it comes from a very normal habit

EastEnders star Michelle Collins made a dramatic return to her iconic role of Cindy Beale last summer, much to the delight of viewers. While she’s been caught up in storylines ever since, having ‘returned from the dead’, you might not know that off-screen, Michelle holds an unusual royal name which was inspired by an everyday habit.

The 62 year old actress first graced our screens as Cindy Beale back in 1998. Fast forward 10 years and her character tragically died off-screen during childbirth while in prison, but then Cindy made a surprise return last summer.

Reflecting on her role as Cindy, the soap star once spoke to The Telegraph and revealed that her friends call her ‘Queen Mum’. Explaining this, she told the publication: “Friends nicknamed me the Queen Mum because I’m not good at carrying cash.

**Michelle returned to Albert Square in the summer of 2023** (Image: BBC)

“I lose cash and cards; once I had a bank account with Lloyds and lost so many cards they said they didn’t want me to bank with them any more! I usually have some coins for parking and no more than £50 in my purse.”

Since Michelle returned to Albert Square in 2023, it’s been reported that she’s seen a significant boost in her earnings. Reports suggest that Michelle’s company accounts were down to just £20,000 when she agreed to make her EastEnders comeback.

She’s been running ITV Worx Limited since 1996, a company that handles the income from her TV gigs. As of August this year, Michelle’s cash reserves stood at an impressive £125,072, according to accounts filed for the year ending March 2024. The soap star has forked out more than £56,000 in tax, indicating she earned approximately five times that amount in 2024. The Sun reports that she paid £12,240 to HMRC in 2023, highlighting a substantial increase in her earnings over two years.

Michelle also used to manage her own beauty brand, MC Skin Truth, which she launched in 2015, reports the Express. However, the company closed its doors in 2021, with the final set of accounts revealing it had assets of just £100.

**The soap first graced our screens as Cindy in 1998**

**Michelle with her co-star Adam Woodyatt, who plays Ian Beale** (Image: Instagram/Michelle Collins)

Reflecting on her EastEnders comeback, Michelle confessed it was a massive decision to resurrect her character. She explained: “It was a big decision to return and I wanted to go back with a good storyline. People love to hate Cindy. She is unapologetic and behaves in a way you shouldn’t really behave, but you sometimes can’t help that when you follow your heart, not your gut let’s face it, how many women do that? “.

The TV icon went on: “You should always say ‘never say never’ as an actor, because you never know. The first time round, I was desperate to leave EastEnders to prove I could do other things.

“I left when I was 33, then went back after my daughter was born and it wasn’t the same. I’d moved on and I wasn’t enjoying it. I’d had a taste of the outside world. It didn’t feel right, so I left again.”

Michelle concluded: “Now, it feels right being back. I’m comfortable in my skin, more in the moment. I’m still hard on myself, but I’m in a very different place now. And you don’t see many 62-year-old women getting good TV roles.”