Michelle Collins talks to TV Times magazine about leaving Coronation Street and playing a redhead with a secret in this weekend’s Casualty...
Why did you head straight into Casualty after leaving Coronation Street?
"It was a job that was offered very late and I just thought I’d do it. What I wanted when I left Corrie was to go out and be a jobbing actress again and do different things. This came up and I thought I’d just jump in at the deep end."
You had red hair for a while afterwards - why did you go for such a change?
"I suppose I just wanted to shake Stella off, so when I finished Corrie I went straight to the hairdresser’s and said, 'What do you think about me going red?' I’m back to blonde now, because the red was too high maintenance. It kept fading. I’m not a high-maintenance kind of person."
What's your character Samantha like in Casualty?
"Samantha is a wealthy woman who lunches and she’s a keep-fit fanatic, so it was quite nice not to have to be dressed up all the time. On the surface you think she’s a certain type of woman and you discover she’s not – she’s hiding a secret. But you don’t find out what it is until the last episode."
How did you find the experience?
"It was great fun to play, but very tiring at first, because they had me up to my neck in mud on the assault course on the very first day! I didn’t want to make a fuss, but I was exhausted."
Back in 2010, you played Camille in Casualty, too…
"I guess they remembered me and wanted me back. I also once played a nurse who was a serial bigamist in an ITV drama called Perfect, but I’ve never played a doctor – perhaps that’s next. I could – I’m not at all squeamish about blood."
Did you find it hard leaving Coronation Street?
"It wasn’t hard to leave Stella behind once I’d made the decision. I’ve kept in touch with Sue Johnston and the other people who played my family [John Michie, who played Karl Munro, and Catherine Tyldesley, who played Stella’s daughter Eva], but we don’t call each other every day. And I’ve been so busy since leaving, I haven’t even cleared out my rented house in Manchester yet."
Do you miss the show now?
"We actors worry about our security, of course, but you have to think about life as well and what else is important to you, like family and home. I do miss Corrie, but the door’s been left open, so who knows?"
