EastEnders’ Cindy Beale star lets slip who really attacked her in 40th anniversary twist

Cindy Beale is at the forefront of some big scenes on EastEnders next week as the show celebrates its 40th anniversary.

Since her surprise return to Walford, Cindy (played by Michelle Collins) hasn’t had it easy. First, she had to explain to everyone why she was still alive as Ian had been told she died in childbirth whist in prison. Now we know that was completely false and she had actually had her death faked by witness protection, and she was living under the alias of ‘Rose Knight’.

There was double trouble for Cindy when she arrived in London from Spain, only to find out that her husband George Knight was there too – and her daughters Gina and Anna that she hadn’t seen in years.

Not content with a quiet life, since she’s returned, Cindy has been cheating on her partner Ian Beale with none other than her former husband George’s son Junior Knight. After the affair came to light, Cindy was attacked and subjected to a string of threats, including one who said they wished she had stayed dead – but who attacked her, and who has been threatening her?

Right in time for anniversary week, Cindy’s Christmas storyline wraps up as we finally learn who was responsible for attacking her and it leads to a huge showdown, with far reaching consequences for multiple residents.

“Yes, I was shocked [when I found out]. I actually thought I knew who it was, but I can see why they’ve done it. There are going to be some great scenes when she finds out who it is,” Michelle says.

Cindy will be left reeling when she finally finds out who attacked her. “At one point she’s thought it could have been any of them, but I really don’t think she knows. The scary thing for Cindy is that she knows it’s somebody very close to her, and that’s very frightening that someone could hate her so much that they would want her dead,” she says, “She really is completely and utterly paranoid and running scared. She is feeling really isolated. Cindy has never really had very many friends, poor woman!”

Michelle first joined the BBC soap just three years after it started in 1985. During that time, she’s had a romance – or several – and made her return from the dead back in summer 2023.

“I was very nervous, only because I had lied to Julia Smith and told her I could ride a motorbike and I actually couldn’t!” she says of her first day on set, “As soon as I got onto set they presented me with this bike. Julia had seen me on a drama where I played a motorbike dispatch rider, but what I didn’t tell her was I was pushed in and out of shot by the prop men.

“She could see that I was very nervous and couldn’t ride it properly – I nearly ran Sharon and Michelle over! Julia came over to me and said ‘you can’t ride that bike can you’, and I just apologised and she said ‘don’t lie to me ever again!'”

She can count a string of EastEnders legends as her friends. “I got on really well with Nick Berry (Simon Wicks) and Chris McHallem (Rod Norman), also Gary McDonald (Darren Roberts), Judith Jacobs (Carmel Roberts), and Sandy Radcliff (Sue Osman) who I had worked with before on a play. I got on very well with those guys, they were all really nice, generous and giving,” she says of their support during her early days in Walford.

Back to the present, Cindy is entangled in more love drama – something which she’s not been short of in her time in Walford. Over the years, she’s dated Simon Wicks, Ian Beale, David Wicks, Nick Holland, George Knight and Junior Knight to name a few.

“I think Cindy has had massive trauma in her life, it’s almost like everything is going well and then it explodes. She loves too much, and she is never satisfied or content and I don’t know if she ever will be,” she says of her love life.

“She also loves a drama in her life, she needs to be wanted and she’s not one of those women who is very good without a man. She’s kind of like one of those old Tennessee William’s characters, like a Blanche DuBois or Elizabeth Taylor in ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ – they’re dysfunctional and almost attract that in their lives.”

Michelle doesn’t think Cindy is a true villain – just a bit “self-absorbed” and “not so great at navigating life”.

“She’s really complicated. Considering what has happened in Cindy’s life she’s doing alright. Cindy should have taken advice off people when they’ve offered it as she has kind of stoked the fires and caused a lot of heartache in her family,” she says.