EastEnders star Michelle Collins has hit back at comments on her appearance, pointing out the double standards between women and men when it comes to ageing.
Collins, who plays Cindy Beale on the BBC soap, has taken to Twitter/X to shut down trolls after finding herself on the receiving end of some nasty online abuse. She had a brilliant response for detractors, also urging people to stop scrutinising all women's bodies.
"What I don't get is why do people always comment on a woman's looks?" she asked, posting a recent picture of her on the red carpet next to an older image.
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"Her age, how old she looks, how weathered she looks, she hasn't aged well, looks terrible close up, honestly really? You don't do it to men hardly ever!" she continued, adding that now she's "older, wiser, happier and a better actress".
The soap star has teased a big storyline for her character this festive season.
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After last Christmas' big Walford murder mystery with The Six, now it's time for Cindy to take centre stage as her affair with Junior Knight is set to be exposed in upcoming scenes.
Related: Every Christmas episode of EastEnders to be available to watch on BBC iPlayer
Cindy has been seeing Junior, who's her ex-husband George Knight's son, behind her husband Ian's back.
EastEnders is gearing up for a classic explosive Christmas in Soapland, with Collins saying she's "honoured" and "excited" to be a part of this festive episode.
"It's always a classic [episode] and it was a classic last Christmas, so it's great to be involved in this one. I think the episode this year is a real EastEnders classic, so I'm really excited to be a part of it."
EastEnders airs on Mondays-Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer, where most episodes drop early at 6am ahead of their TV broadcast.
