EastEnders star Michelle Collins has revealed what the future holds for Cindy Beale ahead of her imminent return to the soap.

Cindy fled Walford in the aftermath of the explosion at The Queen Vic – a disaster she was responsible for after pushing husband Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) in front of Reiss Colwell’s (Jonny Freeman) car.

Appalled to learn that it had been Ian’s mum, Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) who bashed her over the head at Christmas, Cindy left… but not before swearing revenge.

Cindy is set to return next week, arriving on Albert Square as son Peter Beale (Thomas Law) and fiancée Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa) celebrate their engagement.

However, all parties involved get more than they bargained for when Lauren goes into labour with only Cindy on hand to help.

But what does Cindy have planned this time? And what does her unexpected return mean for Lauren and the baby?

Actor Michelle has teased Cindy’s future on the soap – revealing that her return to Walford finds Cindy hoping to make things right with her family, rather than seeking revenge.

‘Cindy comes back wanting to make amends, and wanting to get back with her family, but I think what she doesn’t realise is that people have not forgotten and they’re not going to forgive her that easily,’ Michelle revealed.

‘It’s going to take a long time, and Cindy gets a bit of a shock when she comes back from how people react to her.’

Returning to Walford, Cindy isn’t exactly welcomed back with open arms – with both Ian’s family and the Knights still harbouring a great deal of resentment over her affair with Junior Knight (Micah Balfour).

‘She gets a very frosty reception. Cindy comes back and thinks that everyone is going to have open arms and welcome her back and go ‘oh everything is forgiven’ and actually, it doesn’t go the way that she had planned so she has to try and change her tactic. She’s quite deluded, isn’t she?’ Michelle laughed.

Complicating matters is her culpability for the explosion at The Vic – which left Martin Fowler (James Bye) dead and the Walford landmark in ruins.

‘Cindy hasn’t been around, so she hasn’t seen how upset everybody is and the impact and devastation that it’s caused in the Square, but I think she is remorseful,’ Michelle said, of Cindy’s guilt.

However, she’s not about to take the lion’s share of the blame either.

‘I think she is the type of person who thinks that it isn’t 100% her fault. Yes, Cindy pushing Ian was a catalyst for the events that followed but you could say the same about Ian as if he hadn’t reacted in the way that he did, then Cindy might not have retaliated, and the explosion wouldn’t have happened. So, in a sense, I think she feels that he is just as much to blame as she is.’

And what of Ian? With her husband having cut her out of his life, she faces an uphill struggle in getting her relationship with her family back on track.

‘I think with Ian and Cindy, it is a bit like the war of the roses between them. Cindy is remorseful, but she isn’t going to go down that easily. Cindy is not a walkover, and she does believe in right and wrong, but she does not want anyone to get anything over her.

‘The people she cares about passionately more than anybody are her kids, and Peter in particular,’ Michelle continued.

And then there’s the matter of Kathy, who revealed that she’d been the one who attacked Cindy on Christmas Eve. Will Cindy use what Kathy did as an attempt to minimise her own cuplability?

‘In some ways yes, but what Kathy did was pretty bad,’ Michelle said. ‘She did try to kill her, let’s not forget.’

Shunned by both the Beales and the Knights, a dejected Cindy retaliates by dropping Kathy in it – revealing that it had been Kathy who attacked her.

Soon after returning home, Cindy goes to confront Lauren – only to find her in labour, where she rushes to her future daughter-in-law’s aid.

‘Cindy is good in a crisis, and she does what she has to do to get Lauren to the hospital,’ Michelle revealed. ‘She’s not the type of person that would run away. She’s courageous, she’s bold and she’s tough.’

But does she have any guilt for what she did to Lauren – supplying her with illegal painkillers which she took while pregnant?

‘Although she has openly admitted that she’s never really liked Lauren, I think she does try with her,’ Michelle said.

But what does the future ultimately hold for Cindy? Between her family’s hostility and those seeking to blame her for the events of February, it’s not going to be easy.

But then, we wouldn’t count Cindy out either.