Beloved British actress Dame Barbara Windsor has died aged 83.
One of Britain’s most beloved entertainment stars, she first found fame in her role as a buxom blonde in the Carry On films and later became a household name playing Peggy Mitchell, the Queen Vic’s battle-axe landlady in BBC soap EastEnders.
Dame Barbara was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2014 and made the news public in 2018.
She died at 8.35pm on Thursday at a London care home, her husband Scott Mitchell said.
He said the cherished actress’s final weeks were ‘typical of how she lived her life’ and ‘full of humour, drama and a fighting spirit until the end’.
Dame Barbara Windsor, best known for her roles in EastEnders and the Carry On films, has died aged 83, her husband Scott Mitchell (pictured together) said
Mr Mitchell said: ‘Her passing was from Alzheimer’s/dementia and Barbara eventually died peacefully and I spent the last seven days by her side.
‘Myself, her family and friends will remember Barbara with love, a smile and affection for the many years of her love, fun, friendship and brightness she brought to all our lives and the entertainment she gave to so many thousands of others during her career.
‘Barbara’s final weeks were typical of how she lived her life. Full of humour, drama and a fighting spirit until the end.
‘It was not the ending that Barbara or anyone else living with this very cruel disease deserve. I will always be immensely proud of Barbara’s courage, dignity and generosity dealing with her own illness and still trying to help others by raising awareness for as long as she could.’
One of Britain’s most beloved entertainment stars, Dame Barbara Windsor (left) first found fame in her role as a buxom blonde in the Carry On films and later became a household name playing Peggy Mitchell (right), the Queen Vic’s battle-axe landlady in BBC soap EastEnders
She died at 8.35pm on Thursday at a London care home, her husband Scott Mitchell (pictured together) said
Mr Mitchell, who alongside his wife campaigned for greater dementia care from the Government, added: ‘Dementia/Alzheimer’s remains the UKs number one killer. Although in challenging times, I urge the Prime Minister, his government and other parties to be true to their previous promises and invest more into dementia/Alzheimer’s research and care.
‘Thank you to all the doctors, nurses and carers who are angels at the care home for your kindness and care to Barbara and I throughout her stay with you. You are my heroes.
‘And my gratitude to our family, friends and everyone in the media and the general public for all the good wishes and warm support that has been shown to Barbara over the last few years during her illness. Barbara deeply appreciated that.’
At the end of his moving tribute, Mr Mitchell said: ‘May you rest in peace now my precious Bar. I’ve lost my wife, my best friend and soul mate and my heart or life will never feel the same without you.
‘I will be making no further statements and now need the time to grieve this painful, personal loss.’
The mother of hardmen Phil and Grant, Dame Barbara played the landlady of the Queen Victoria and was often heard telling drinkers who had crossed her to ‘get outta my pub!’
But before she had set foot in Albert Square, Dame Barbara had enjoyed a glittering career in showbusiness and was also well known for her portrayal of the ‘good time girl’ in the Carry On series between 1964 and 1974.
Her career only went up from there and she appeared in hit TV series such as Dad’s Army, Worzel Gummidge and One Foot In The Grave.
Dame Barbara was born Barbara Anne Deeks in Shoreditch, in 1937 to a fruit and veg cart seller and a dressmaker.
As a child she was bright and sat her 11-plus exam a year early. All her life it has been her proud boast that she got the ‘highest mark in North London’.
The talented adolescent trained at the Aida Foster School in Golders Green before making her stage debut in a pantomine at the age of 13.
In 1953, inspired by the Queen’s Coronation, she adopted the stage-name Windsor.
Just a year later she made her West End debut in the musical Love From Judy and from there she didn’t look back, enjoying a glittering career on stage and on screen.
The TV icon – who became a Dame in 2016 – appeared in her first film at the age of 17 in The Belles Of St Trinian’s (1954).
Dame Barbara started appearing on TV in variety shows, singing numbers with salacious titles such as My Hair, My Teeth, My Bosom, beside comedians Ken Dodd and Benny Hill.
She later received a BAFTA Award nomination for Sparrows Can’t Sing (1963), and a Tony award nomination for the Broadway production of Oh, What A Lovely War! (1964).
And she quickly became known for her comedic talents when she starred as the ‘good time girl’ in the Carry On series between 1964 and 1974.
Before becoming synonymous with Albert Square, Dame Barbara delighted Carry On fans with her portrayals of a ‘good time girl,’ appearing in nine films in a series known for its bawdy humour.
She first appeared in Carry On Spying in 1964, with her final film role coming in 1974’s Carry On Dick.
One of Dame Barbara’s most famous scenes was in 1969’s Carry On Camping, when her bikini top flew off in the middle of an exercise class.
She was cast in EastEnders as Peggy Mitchell in 1994, for which she received the Best Actress Soap Award at the 1999 BSAs and a Lifetime Achievement at the 2009 BSAs.
In 2016, Barbara won the Outstanding Contribution Award at the TV Choice Awards, and Best Exit at the Inside Soap Awards, for her portrayal of Peggy’s death.
Dame Barbara joined the cast of Eastenders in 1994 to play hard-bitten matriarch Peggy Mitchell.
She left for two years between 2003 and 2005, announced she would quit in 2009, but then returned for one of episodes in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
The workload was frenetic, but she was the soap’s biggest name for the next 15 years — running Albert Square’s Queen Vic until Phil burned it down in 2010.
Her last appearance aired on May 17 2016 when Peggy took her own life after being diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Both Dame Barbara and her husband campaigned to raise awareness of Alzheimer’s following her diagnosis.
In August this year Mitchell said his wife had been moved to a care home in London.
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