Dame for a laugh!

The extraordinary life of a true screen icon...

Our special tribute to the wonderful Barbara Windsor

Upon accepting her Damehood from the Queen in 2016, Barbara Windsor joked that it was lovely to meet ‘another small lady’. But like Her Majesty, Barbara was in fact a giant; excelling in what she did, and capturing the hearts of the British public like few before her – whether it be in the Carry On films of the 1960s, TV light entertainment in the 70s and 80s, or the role she’ll forever be remembered for: EastEnders’ Peggy Mitchell.

Born Barbara Ann Deeks in the East End of London in August 1937, Barbara was singing and dancing from an early age. “Barbara is a show-off who loves to perform,” commented her ballet mistress – and perform she did. By 13, she was working professionally, and a year later was starring in the West End. She changed her surname to Windsor, “which seemed apt as it was the Queen’s coronation year,” she recalled.

Her career progressed to singing in nightclubs, and more theatre roles followed.

Despite winning critical acclaim – and a prestigious Tony

Award nomination on Broadway – it was her arrival in the Carry On films that shot Barbara to public fame. She appeared in just nine of the 31 films, but her face – and her shapely figure – are synonymous with the saucy series. Her most famous scene – when her bikini top flew off in Carry On Camping – went in front of the UK film censors, who concluded that the scene, and the flash of Barbara’s breast, ‘wouldn’t corrupt the nation’.

Making headlines

While Barbara’s success in film, TV and theatre made her a household name, her personal life also saw her in the spotlight. Her first husband Ronnie Knight was tried for murder; she had a close friendship with the notorious Kray twins; and a relationship with her married Carry On star Sid James kept her name in the headlines.

But just when her career might have waned as the sex symbol entered middle age, and her second marriage broke down, Barbara hit the jackpot on two fronts. She met Scott Mitchell – 26 years her junior – who’d be by her side for the rest of her life. Meanwhile, she was offered a role in the BBC’s flagship soap. The rest, as they say, is history…

Soon, Barbara was more famous than ever, finding a whole new audience as Peggy Mitchell, and grabbing a host of awards in the process.

Barbara was once asked what she’d like her obituary to read, and she replied, “She was a good bird.” But Barbara Windsor won’t simply be remembered as good. She’ll be celebrated as the best.

Believe it or not, there was once another Peggy Mitchell. Character actress Jo Warne played the hard-faced Mitchell mum for ten episodes in 1991. But when EastEnders’ bosses decided to bring the character of Phil and Grant’s mum back to the show full-time, they still wanted that toughness, yet with an added vulnerability which would be vital if the character was to be part of the show for the long term. Enter Barbara Windsor.

At the time, Barbara was touring in her one-woman show. “I was getting too old to go schlepping all over the country kicking my legs in the air,” she admitted. The 57-year-old actress had been left with debts after her second marriage collapsed, so EastEnders was a godsend – but Barbara was equally a godsend to EastEnders.

First-night nerves

It wasn’t all plain sailing. Barbara later revealed that she was so nervous on her first day that she “threw up outside the car lot”, in front of Ross Kemp (Grant). Meanwhile, she had concerns over her costumes and the way Peggy was being portrayed. However, when a new producer took over, not only was Barbara’s four-month contract extended, but she was given the news she never expected – Peggy would take over the Queen Vic, with a new look and a new attitude.

“At first, they thought of her as this timid woman who worried about her sons,” said Barbara. “Then they let me go out with the costume designer to choose Peggy’s wardrobe, which needed to be a lot more flash and upmarket. We worked really hard on getting Peggy right.”

With Peggy firmly in place, the drama could begin. Not only did she have to deal with her family’s woes, she also had plenty of her own! Barbara was particularly proud of Peggy’s battle with breast cancer – a storyline she suggested to producers.

“I had hundreds of letters, and I feel like we’d helped people,” she said. “There are a lot of people on their own, and when there’s something wrong with them, they can’t talk to anyone, or they’re too scared. But when you see it happen on television, to a character you know, it’s very good.”

Meanwhile, Peggy had a rocky love life. She was engaged to dodgy George Palmer and paedophile Harry Slater. She married unfaithful Frank Butcher, then her late husband’s controlling brother, Archie Mitchell.

“Most people think Frank was Peggy’s real love, but Peggy always saw him as Pat’s bloke,” shared Barbara. “Then Larry Lamb [Archie] walked in. I couldn’t believe it! Not only handsome, but lovely and sweet and a giggle. When we did our first kiss, I was so excited. I did the kiss and fell over! I was devastated when they killed him. I sulked for days… months!” Off screen, Barbara became a major role model for many of the younger cast. “I always had an asprin or a condom, if anyone needed one,” she joked.

Last orders

After 16 years in the role, Barbara called time on Peggy in 2010, “to spend a bit more time with my old man”. But what the public didn’t know was that she was already suffering from the first signs of the disease that would end her life. Peggy made a couple of brief returns, but in 2016, as Barbara’s condition worsened, she approached bosses about giving Peggy a proper send-off. At first, they were dubious about killing off such an iconic character, until her husband Scott confided in them. “She was struggling to learn lines, so wouldn’t ever be coming back after this,” he said. “I think [her exit scenes] are some of the best she ever did.”

And so Barbara took her final bow on Albert Square. As Peggy put it in her last scene: “I will go as I have lived: straight back, head high, like a queen.”