Michelle Collins

Michelle Danielle Collins (born 28 May 1962 ) is an  English television actress. She is best known for playing  Stella Price in the soap opera  Coronation Street and previously for playing  Cindy Beale in  EastEnders. She also appeared in the BBC dramas  Sunburn and  Two Thousand Acres of Sky. At one time, she was also a TV presenter on  The Word.

Politics
Collins came out in support for the Labour Party, in the 2010 general election, mentioning the success of sure start centres, which had been introduced by Labour in government, she said "There is nothing more important than giving children the best possible start in life", going on to say "it would be a big step backwards to cut them now".

[edit] Charity work
Collins is involved in charitable causes. She is an ambassador for Oxfam and has visited Brazil, South Africa and Armenia, promoting the need for the basic right to education. She is also an ambassador for Ambitious about Autism, the national charity for children and young people with autism. She also continues to be involved with a variety of fund raising projects for Stonewall, Smart Justice; and Breakthrough Breast Cancer where she is a spokesperson for a project to recruit 100,000 women to research the causes of breast cancer.[