Former EastEnders star Michelle Collins is looking forward to a wicked time in Chesterfield pantomime

Michelle is cast as Carabosse in Sleeping Beauty which opens at the Winding Wheel Theatre on Tuesday, December 6.

"Chesterfield audiences are in for a real treat," she said. "There is something quite exciting in how I arrive on stage - I won't give too much away but I can assure you that I'll have lots of wicked things up my sleeve.

"It's so much fun to wind the audiences up and get them to hate you. To be booed off the stage and that be a positive is just brilliant.”

Playing evil is second nature to Michelle, 60, who became a household name as the scheming, unfaithful wife Cindy Beale in television soap EastEnders.

This will be Michelle’s third spell as the bad fairy in Sleeping Beauty. She said: “I just love playing Carabosse. I love the costume, you always get an amazing headdress.”

Her pantomime characters during the past 30 years have included the Wicked Stepmother, playing alongside Mickey Rooney, Bobby Davro and Louie Spence, and lead roles in Jack and the Beanstalk and Dick Whittington.

Michelle, who has a 26-year old daughter, said: "I love performing in pantomime because it's a chance to let your hair down and have some fun. As an actor you can break that fourth wall down and really interact with the audience.”

Commenting on her first impression of Chesterfield, the most northern place she has performed in pantomime, Michelle said: "It's a pretty little town, it will be nice to get away from London. The countryside is beautiful, I can take my dogs for walks if I get time. We have two shows a day and on Christmas Eve we have three shows a day. I'm sure the Winding Wheel will be a lovely place to be.”

Sleeping Beauty comes at the end of a busy year for Michelle. She spent half of 2022 touring the country as Miss Scarlett in Cluedo which visited Sheffield in May. Michelle said: "To play Miss Scarlett was so much fun - it was pure escapism."

During the summer Michelle filmed Miss The Kiss with Martin Kemp, John Hannah, Sadie Frost and Patsy Kensit. "That's coming out in February," she said. "I go back to London for the screening of that in December so I'm quite excited about that.

"I've got another film coming out next year - a horror film with the director from Game Of Thrones called The Haunting of Helen's Bridge."

Wedding bells rang for Michelle in August when she tied the knot with her partner of ten years, Mike Davidson. She said: "It seems a long time ago. We're still married and we're still speaking. My husband will come and see me over Christmas and New Year....we will spend Christmas up north."

Sleeping Beauty runs at the Winding Wheel Theatre until January 3, 2023. To book tickets, go to www.chesterfieldtheatres.co.uk or call 01246 345222.