The one lesson I’ve learned from life

ACTRESS Michelle collins, 55, is most famous for her role as cindy Beale in eastenders, and more recently, stella Price in coronation street. single mother to daughter Maia, now 20, Michelle lives in london.

YOU SHOULD ALWAYS MIND YOUR MANNERS

My Mother, Mary, brought up my older sister, Vicki, and me single-handedly and she taught me an awful lot.

you don’t realise it at the time but the values instilled in you in your formative years serve you well for the rest of your life — as well as inform the way you raise your own children.

I’m talking about humility, about respecting people who are older than you and about good manners. I’m really hot on manners, and I think it’s a great shame that they seem to be going out of fashion.

I remember my mum saying she never, ever wanted to see me eating while I was walking down the street. And she was a stickler for me getting my shoes re-soled and re-heeled if they were looking a bit ropey. ‘you can always tell a lot about a person from the state of their shoes,’ she’d say.

She was quite strict, but I think that helped me in the long run. even if she and I were having a blazing row, I’d still do what she said. When it came to other adults, I was always polite, always showed them respect.

It’s something I’ve passed on to my daughter, Maia. She’s 20 and has beautiful manners, which makes me proud.

In my early 20s, I worked with British actress Patricia routledge and I was terrified of her. I was convinced she didn’t like me although I was polite to her from start to finish. But when we finished the job, she came into my dressing room and told me that she thought I’d go far.

then she gave me a keyring with a fob hanging off it saying ‘the Key to Success’. I was delighted. She’d obviously been keeping me at arm’s length just in case I got above myself. I think I needed to earn her respect and clearly I did.

I see plenty of over-confident young people in my business and I don’t think it’s endearing. they land a job and think they know it all. I’m in a musical at the moment and there are two young girls in the cast who are straight out of drama school.

I’ve been watching them and they’re great, obviously keen to listen and learn. they’re polite, disciplined and punctual.

If you turn up late for whatever reason, apologise immediately and don’t do it again. It’s no more than good manners. Which are, in my opinion, the key to everything.

Michelle is in Thoroughly Modern Millie (modernmillie.co.uk) and A Dark Night in Dalston from March 7 (parktheatre.co.uk).