She’s genuine and straight talking. If she likes you, she’ll be an ally for life. If you cross her – you might as well leave the country. Karina’s fed up of turning a blind eye to Mal’s philandering and has developed the confidence to expect more from a relationship. For the first time she’s ready to face the future… alone.
Michelle Collins is back, this time sexier and more powerful than ever before. Replace the strops and bitchy remains of EastEnders’ Cindy Beale with big hair, designer clothes, killer heels, and fake tan and you have the role of Karina Faith. A strong woman who means business, and with Michelle’s own personal experience of talent shows and the music industry, she couldn’t think of a more suitable role to take on.
“I read the Rock Rivals scripts and really wanted to be a part of it. I loved Karina because she comes from a music background like I do. I was in a band called Mari Wilson and The Wilsations when I was about nineteen and we spent eighteen months touring the country. We also went on a talent show just like Rock Rivals, called The David Essex Showcase that focused on British talent in the 80s. We got through to the finals but sadly didn’t win. It was a fun time but we split up in 1982.
“I love the fact that Karina is a bit of a rock chick and grew up in that world too. I was a fan of shows like New Faces and Opportunity Knocks, so combining this with my love of music and acting was great. I think music makes people happy and many are intrigued by that world. I had the best time in Dublin last year bringing this fictional world of egos, fame and back-stabbing to life.
“Rock Rivals is a fun family show. I’m guessing a lot of people who liked the fun and craziness of Footballers Wives and talents shows like The X Factor or American Idol will enjoy this. It has something for everyone. An entertainment show within a drama – it’s high octane, it’s colourful, glamorous, funny, sad, and has great music. We are not doing a spoof behind the scenes of a reality show, we are just making a fun drama out of an idea that just so happens to be a reality programme. I find it interesting that programming has done a full circle - people are always moaning that there is too much reality television and asking, where is all the drama? This is actually a very clever way of turning it all around. It is a drama that has come out of a reality show. I think it was something that was waiting to happen. It’s very now.”
Michelle laughs when talking about her relationship with on-screen husband Sean Gallagher, who plays Karina’s husband and business partner Mal.
“Mine and Sean’s characters are both very stubborn and ambitious. We are quite like Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas in The War of the Roses, or Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd in Moonlighting; we love each other but are always fighting which made it fun and interesting to play. I enjoyed slapping Sean around the face a few times and driving his character’s beloved sports car in a swimming pool after Karina finds out about a fling he’s been having.
“It was scary driving it and the water was quite cold, but the hardest part was trying to keep my dignity whilst getting out of the car underwater and keeping my high heels on. I was determined to keep them on because I thought it’d look funnier to see Karina stomping away like a drowned rat but still looking as stylish as she could in that situation.
“I love working with Sean - we’ve worked together before in something called Ella and the Mothers and he cheated on my character in that too so I think this is my chance to get back at him. We have a great relationship on and off the camera, we laugh a hell of a lot and it’s good when you have that with your leading man. He would sometimes cook for me and we’d watch lots of television together – I blame him for getting me hooked on so much reality television during the autumn actually.”
Admitting that there are elements of Cindy Beale in Karina, Michelle is quick to point out that Karina isn’t a nasty woman and hopes she will not be hated like Cindy was.
“Karina is a big bold character and the nearest I have come to that sort of role is Cindy Beale. She is a woman that we all love to watch. I don’t think Karina is a bitch, in fact I think a lot of people will feel sorry for her most of the time. She is very much in a man’s world and becomes really assertive and empowered. Everyone around her, including Mal, realises how much she has learnt about the business. They say that behind every successful man is a successful woman and Karina has been waiting in the wings for too long and she has her moment to shine.
“She is much more caring and certainly a better parent than Mal. Karina is head strong, fearless, funny, warm, and kind – something that Mal definitely isn’t. She becomes a victim of her own successes and goes on a huge journey. Having spent her life being devoted to Mal, Karina is crushed when he hurts and humiliates her in a very public way, but she becomes a woman on a mission. She too gets to have some fun and enjoys the male attention. One of the things Karina does to get back at Mal is set up her own company. She calls it Mad Cow Management, which is very appropriate really. She enjoys making Mal jealous and gets some new found confidence back.
“The barmy thing is, she still loves him and hope that he’ll change. They simply can’t live with each other and can’t live without each other. I suppose Mal and Karina are the real rivals of the show. They love each other so much, yet there is a very thin line between love and hate for the pair of them. Most people will probably want to punch the lights out of Mal because that’s what he deserves. Every woman I’m sure will be shouting ‘I can’t believe that man has got away with it!’ Sean plays him brilliantly… some of the things his character does is unbelievable – there’s almost a death for God’s sake.”
Michelle had fun creating the look and style of Karina and confesses that she did look at a fellow judge for a little help.
“I talked with the producers a lot about Karina and how we all wanted her to be. In the beginning, the script describes her as an Annie Lennox type person, who is fantastic, but I knew we had to tailor Karina to how I look. In this world a lot of people judge you by the way you dress, especially women. So, to make people take Karina more seriously for the successful business woman she is, we made her look sophisticated whilst still trying to keep elements of ‘rock chick’ about her. There are lots of fitted suits and dresses, expensive jewellery, lots of fake tan and big hair. It was great fun playing a high maintenance woman but the costume girls would go mad at me because I’d always forget about my fake tan and get it all over these fabulous clothes.
“There are bound to be comparisons between my character and Sharon Osborne, although Karina really is fictional and nothing like her I promise. It was important to create my own character and have fun with the scripts, but that’s not to say I didn’t observe Sharon Osborne a bit. I took note of her public persona when she is off stage and how caring she can be, so that will be the only similarity. It was great to sit behind a desk on the Rock Rivals set too as I could hide all my coffees and cappuccinos under it and nobody ever knew. I wonder if Sharon hides anything under hers?”
Despite having had a great time filming in Dublin with the cast and crew, Michelle missed her eleven year old daughter Maia terribly.
“There were so many great moments during filming but the real downside for me was being away from my daughter. I missed her so much and travelled home most weekends during the five month shoot to see her. It was tough and tiring but our time together is precious. Maia came out to Ireland with my father a few times to visit me too. It was great because she is a big fan of things like The X Factor and she loved hearing about my day at work and couldn’t wait to meet the rivals in the show. She loves Holly, who plays Bethany, so I was happy about that. She kept saying ‘she’s very pretty Mummy’ and ‘I’m going to tell all my friends to watch this show’ so that’s a good sign.
“You would think that after months and months of filming in Dublin I wouldn’t go back for a while but funnily enough Maia and I were back there for New Year to shoot a short film called Play With Me. It was lovely because we had quite a quiet Christmas and it was something new to be filming with my daughter.
“We stayed at the lovely Ritz Carlton, so that was a bit of luxury and I realised just how much I had missed being in Ireland. It’s a great city.”
So would Michelle ever like to become a talent show judge for real and return to the music industry?
“Doing this show has brought back some fun memories for me, but I don’t think I would go back to being a singer in a band again. The nearest I came to that recently was when I was doing the Daddy Cool musical in the West End. I had a great time but I don’t think my voice is cut out for a full time singing career.
“I love acting and would be happy to stick to that. However, I think it would be fun to be a judge. I’m just not sure I would want to put someone’s lifetime ambitions in my hands, it would be so unfair. It’s bloody hard for the contestants so I don’t think I would have the guts to say that somebody wasn’t any good. Having said that, I think the important things to look for in a future star are an amazing voice, charisma, good style, attitude, and obviously lots of confidence - without being cocky. It has to be that whole package quality that very few people have.”
So who were Michelle’s music idols?
“I really liked David Essex but when I was on The Davis Essex Showcase he was not particularly nice and shattered my dreams a little bit I must say. Then I met him again some years later and he was very pleasant and I was very jealous because he was going out with a girl from Hot Gossip.
“I liked David Bowie too, and I remember being in a lift once with David Bowie and Mick Jagger about ten years ago, but I spent the whole journey wondering if it was them or not and when I realised that it was I missed my chance to speak to them and was kicking myself for the rest of the day.”
With Karina mentoring Angel, Jez, and Holly, who would Michelle really like to see win?
“I definitely want to see my acts win. I think it’s fair to say that it becomes clear quite early on that Bethany and Luke - who is one of Mal’s acts - are the favourites to win. I would love it if Bethany does win, but that is out of my control. When we were filming the last episode I was so moved when Holly (who plays Bethany) was up on that stage. I really felt like she was my responsibility and was so very proud of her. Her voice really is incredible and I have to confess the first time I heard her sing I had tears in my eyes.
“Sean and I both went through a lot with our contestants and really bonded with them. We got very competitive about it off camera too. We have bets in place about who we think will win, so we have to wait and see who the viewers vote for. It’s a very exciting added bonus to the show and leaves a nice surprise for all the cast too.”
With a long list of varied and successful credits to her name, what else would Michelle like to accomplish? And would she ever consider a return to soaps?
“Since finishing Rock Rivals, it’s really got me in the mood to do another musical again. I saw Hairspray recently and I would love a part in something like that. I thought it was fantastic. But as long as I keep on working and diversify in what I’m doing and continue to enjoy it then I think I am a lucky actress. I just think in this business you have to be very true to yourself and know your capabilities. I hope to still be acting in the next 10 or 20 years time.
“As for returning to soaps – never say never I say. I don’t think you can afford to be snobbish and stuck up in this business. When I was in EastEnders there were people who had said ‘Oh god, I would never do soaps’, and now some of those people are now in them. There were stories recently saying that Cindy was going back to Albert Square, I’m not quite sure how and it was certainly news to me – even my own sister thought I was sworn to secrecy and that I was returning. Right now, I’m more than happy doing all these different roles and keen to try new things too. I’d like to do more writing and I would like to produce my own things one day as well. It seems to be a natural transition for people in the business now, lots of actors are doing it and taking things into their own hands.”
“But before I get involved in all that I would like to make Karina an iconic character, she is my new passion. The end of Rock Rivals is left at a very interesting cliff hanger and I would love to work with Shed productions again to make more. I just hope people like it and just take it for what it is – pure entertainment and great fun.”
Image and text © ITV1
