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The former EastEnders star made her first appearance as new Rovers Return landlady Stella Price in last night's ratings-winning episode, but some viewers appeared to be unconvinced by the Weatherfield newcomer's accent.
Collinson praised the Hackney-born actress's attempt to master a Northern twang and insisted that all memories of her iconic EastEnders character Cindy Beale, who she played between 1988 and 1998, will soon be forgotten.
"I think the landlady of the Rovers Return would have to be a Northern character, really," he said on This Morning. "I don't think we could have had a Southerner running the pub.
"I think her accent's great. I think the thing is people will just get used to it. Within a couple of weeks she'll be Stella; she won't be Cindy anymore."
Collins previously revealed that she was "working hard" with a dialect coach ahead of her Coronation Street debut.
> Read our interview with Coronation Street stars Michelle Collins and John Michie
Watch a scene from Michelle Collins's first Coronation Street episode below:
