Dame Barbara Windsor DBE (born Barbara Ann Deeks; 6th August 1937 – 10th December 2020) was an English actress, known for her roles in the Carry On films and for playing Peggy Mitchell in the BBC One soap opera EastEnders. She joined the cast of EastEnders in 1994 and won the 1999 British Soap Award for Best Actress, before ultimately leaving the show in 2016 when her character was killed off.
Windsor began her career on stage in 1950 at the age of 13, and made her film debut as a schoolgirl in The Belles of St. Trinian's (1954) while studying shipping management at Bow Technical College. She received a BAFTA Award nomination for the film Sparrows Can't Sing (1963), and a Tony Award nomination for the 1964 Broadway production of Oh, What a Lovely War!. In 1972, she starred opposite Vanessa Redgrave in the West End production of The Threepenny Opera.
Between 1964 and 1974, she appeared in nine Carry On films, including Carry On Spying (1964), Carry On Doctor (1967), Carry On Camping (1969), Carry On Henry (1971), and Carry On Abroad (1972). She also co-presented the 1977 Carry On compilation That's Carry On!. Along with Jim Dale, she was one of the last surviving regulars on the series. Her other film roles included A Study in Terror (1965), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), and as the voice of Mallymkun, the Dormouse in Alice in Wonderland (2010) and Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016). Windsor was made a Dame (DBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to charity and entertainment. She was awarded Freedom of the City of London in 2010.
Barbara Windsor in Carry on Matron.
The Belles of St. Trinian's (1954)
The Belles of St Trinian's is a 1954 British comedy film, directed by Frank Launder, co-written by Launder and Sidney Gilliat, and starring Alastair Sim, Joyce Grenfell, George Cole, Hermione Baddeley. Inspired by British cartoonist Ronald Searle's St Trinian's School comic strips, the film focuses on the lives of the students and teachers of the fictional school, dealing with attempts to shut them down while their headmistress faces issues with financial troubles, which culminates in the students thwarting a scheme involving a racehorse.
Barbara Windsor and Bernard Bresslaw star in "Wot A Carry On", the third Carry On stage outing, performed at the North Pier in Blackpool. June 15, 1992 (Image: Mirrorpix)
Barbara Windsor in Blackpool
© 2012 Tony Worrall - Taken 12th March 2012
the 50th anniversary of CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG
Alice Through the Looking Glass is a 2016 American live-action/animated fantasy adventure film directed by James Bobin, written by Linda Woolverton and produced by Tim Burton, Joe Roth, Suzanne Todd, and Jennifer Todd. It is based on the characters created by Lewis Carroll and is the sequel to the 2010 film Alice in Wonderland. The film stars Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Mia Wasikowska, Matt Lucas, Rhys Ifans, Helena Bonham Carter, and Sacha Baron Cohen and features the voices of Stephen Fry, Michael Sheen, Timothy Spall, Barbara Windsor, Matt Vogel, Paul Whitehouse, and Alan Rickman. This also features Rickman, Windsor and Andrew Sachs in their final film roles prior to their deaths.
Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016)
Windsor was born in Shoreditch, London, in 1937 (her birth was registered in Stepney), the only child of John Deeks, a bus driver, and his wife, Rose (née Ellis), a dressmaker. The family lived on Angela Street. Her maternal great-grandmother was the daughter of Irish immigrants who fled Ireland to Great Britain between 1846 and 1851 to escape the Great Famine of Ireland. In 1939, at the start of World War II, Windsor's father was called up for the war, so Windsor and her mother went to live with her mother's family in Yoakley Road, Stoke Newington, where Windsor attended St Mary's Infants' School in nearby Lordship Road
Barbara Windsor receives the Freedom of the City of London award in 2010.
Windsor's mother initially refused to let her be evacuated, but conceded after one of Windsor's school friends was killed by a bomb during an air raid. Aged six, Windsor was evacuated to Blackpool to live with a couple, but they attempted to sexually abuse her. A neighbour heard Windsor's screams and alerted the authorities. The couple were arrested and were found to not be married, but to be brother and sister. Windsor moved in with a schoolfriend and her parents, although they struggled to cope with her loud behaviour. They sent Windsor to dancing school, which sparked her interest in performing, although one night after a class, Windsor found her friend's father kissing another woman in a bus shelter. Humiliated by this, Windsor was sent back to London in 1944 along with a note from her dance teacher which read: "Barbara is a born show-off who loves to perform."
EastEnders: Back to Ours - Barbara Windsor & Pam St Clement
EastEnders: Back to Ours - Barbara Windsor & Pam St Clement.
The Queen pictured with Barbara Windsor during a 2001 visit to the EastEnders set at Elstree Studios.
Front Line London (1944)
Front Line London (1944)
LONDON IN THE FIFTH YEAR OF WAR: EVERYDAY LIFE IN LONDON, 1944 - Members of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force and children are amongst those feeding the pigeons in Trafalgar Square in London. In the background, the base of Nelson's Column is covered in War Savings posters and one of the Trafalgar Square lions can also be seen.
Barbara Windsor Interview on The Paul O'Grady Show (23 December 2005)
Barbara Windsor Interview on The Paul O'Grady Show (23 December 2005).
Ground to air shot of flying bomber over London. The two bomb spotters on roof - they see one coming and press alarm. Close up shot of fire alarm bell ringing. Various shots of the people in building running downstairs after alarm. Various shots of the scenes at London railway station (Paddington?) with crowds of children being evacuated. Nurses escort them onto trains. They wave from windows as trains pulls out. Various shots of train load of evacuees arriving at station at Knutsford. They are transfered to buses outside station. Various shots of the children now arriving at the rest centre. Various shots inside the new deep shelters in London tube with bunks, lines of wash basins, medical unit, etc. Various shots of the badly damaged Guards Chapel of Wellington Barracks after flying bomb hit. Stretcher cases are brought from rubble as the debris is cleared. Mr Winston Churchill having a look at the flying bomb damage in London. Note (found in file): Actual date was 18/06/1944 - 121 people killed.
Impressed by this, Windsor's mother sent her to Madame Behenna's Juvenile Jollities, a drama school at which she appeared in several charity concerts and pantomimes. After the war, she passed her 11-plus exams, gaining the top mark in North London, and earned a scholarship for a place at Our Lady's Catholic High School, Stamford Hill although she was expelled because she argued with the reverend mother after the latter refused to let Barbara have time off to appear in a pantomime.
Just two when the Second World War broke out and five when her dad marched off to fight, her mum Rose kept her at home until, as Dame Barbara once put it, "my friend Margaret was hit by shrapnel and killed"; seen with her parents in 1939 ( Image: Collect Unknown)
Windsor moved to the Aida Foster School, Golders Green, and took elocution lessons. When Windsor's father came to watch a performance, she was ridiculed by the others as her father had begun working as a trolley bus conductor and had come in his uniform. Enraged, Windsor covered the girls in theatrical face powder, throwing more over the chaperone who tried to stop her. Despite this, Windsor was chosen to appear in the chorus of the musical Love From Judy in the West End in 1952 which ran for a successful two years. Her stage name of "Windsor" was inspired by the Coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953. By the time Windsor was 16, Windsor's parents divorced and Windsor was unwillingly made to testify against her father in court. Awarded to her mother, following the divorce, Windsor's father ceased all contact with her and would ignore her if he saw Windsor in the street for many years afterwards.
This was Barbara Windsor’s (born Barbara Ann Deeks) Pantomime debut (1950-51)
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Born Barbara Ann Deeks, on August 6 1937 to a bus conductor and a dressmaker in London’s East End, Barbara is pictured at 18 months old ( Image: Collect Unknown)
In the 1950s she attended the Aida Foster Theatre School in London's Golders Green (pictured) before becoming a household name in the 1960s and 1970s.
Windsor made her television debut when Johnny Brandon, with whom Windsor had starred in Love from Judy, asked her to appear in his television series Dreamer's Highway. Windsor later appeared in musical shows Variety Parade, The Jack Jackson Show, and Six-Five Special, regularly singing with bands. She then became a regular cabaret act at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in Soho, and went on to do the same at the Winston's club alongside Danny La Rue and Amanda Barrie. After joining Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East, she came to prominence in their stage production Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be and Littlewood's film Sparrows Can't Sing (1963), achieving a BAFTA nomination for Best British Film Actress. She also appeared in the comedy films Crooks in Cloisters (1964) and San Ferry Ann (1965), the thriller film A Study in Terror (1965), the fantasy film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) and Ken Russell's musical film The Boy Friend (1971), and the TV sitcoms The Rag Trade and Wild, Wild Women.
Starlets from the early 1950's including Barbara Windsor, then known as Barbara Deeks from the Aida Foster Theatre School in Golders Green.
Queen Elizabeth II after her coronation ceremony in Westminster Abbey, London (Picture: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953.
The club opened on 30th October 1959 in a basement at 39 Gerrard Street in London's Soho district. It was set up and managed by musicians Ronnie Scott and Pete King. In 1965 it moved to a larger venue nearby at 47 Frith Street. The original venue continued in operation as the "Old Place" until the lease ran out in 1967, and was used for performances by the up-and-coming generation of musicians.
Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, Sally Green, former X factor judge Sharon Osbourne, and Eastenders actress Barbara Windsor pictured together at the club in 2007.
Zoot Sims was the club's first transatlantic visitor in 1962, and was succeeded by many others (often saxophonists whom Scott and King, tenor saxophonists themselves, admired, such as Johnny Griffin, Lee Konitz, Sonny Rollins and Sonny Stitt) in the years that followed. Many UK jazz musicians were also regularly featured, including Tubby Hayes and Dick Morrissey who would both drop in for jam sessions with the visiting stars. In the mid-1960s, Ernest Ranglin was the house guitarist. The club's house pianist until 1967 was Stan Tracey. For nearly 30 years it was home of a Christmas residency to George Melly and John Chilton's Feetwarmers. In 1978, the club established the label Ronnie Scott's Jazz House, which issued both live performances from the club and new recordings.
Among other celebrities to grace its red carpet are Keith Richards and Mick Jagger from the Rolling Stones, pictured at a reserved table back in November of 1985.
Ronnie Scott's founder Ronnie Scott (pictured) died in December 1996.
Windsor came to prominence with her portrayals of a "good-time girl" in nine Carry On films. Her first was Carry On Spying in 1964 and her final one was Carry On Dick in 1974. She also appeared in several Carry On... television and compilation specials between 1964 and 1977. One of her best known scenes was in Carry On Camping (1969), where her bikini top flew off during outdoor aerobic exercises. In typical Carry On style, exposure is implied, but little is, in fact, seen. From 1973 to 1975, she appeared with several of the Carry On team in the West End revue Carry On London!. She was strongly identified with the Carry On films for many years, which restricted the roles she was offered later in her career.
Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon pictured leaving the club in 1969. Princess Diana and her lover are also reported to have visited.
Sid James interview | Carry on Star | Royal film premier | 1971
Sid James interview | Carry on Star | Royal film premier | 1971.
Theatre director Joan Littlewood’s only feature paints a vivid picture of London’s East End and its larger than life characters – so vivid that it had to be subtitled for American audiences. When Charlie returns from two years at sea he finds his wife (a terrific performance by Barbara Windsor) has traded in their two up two down for a high rise, and him for a bus driver.
Sparrows Can't Sing 1963.
Sparrows Can't Sing (1963) - Trailer
San Ferry Ann (1965.
Sparrows Can't Sing (1963) - Trailer.
San Ferry Ann - At the patisserie
San Ferry Ann - At the patisserie.
Crooks in Cloisters (1964.
A Study in Terror | Full Movie | Flick Vault
A Study in Terror | Full Movie | Flick Vault.
A Study in Terror (1965
The Boy Friend is a 1971 British musical comedy film written and directed by Ken Russell, based on the 1953 musical of the same name by Sandy Wilson. The film stars Twiggy, Christopher Gable, Tommy Tune, and Max Adrian, with an uncredited appearance by Glenda Jackson. MGM made extensive edits to the film for its American release. The missing material was restored and the film was re-released in 1987. The Boy Friend was released on DVD on 12th April 2011.
The Boy Friend (1971.
Oh, What a Lovely War! is an epic musical developed by Joan Littlewood and her ensemble at the Theatre Workshop in 1963. It is a satire on World War I, and by extension on war in general. The title is derived from the “somewhat satirical” music hall song “Oh! It’s a Lovely War!”, which is one of the major numbers in the production.
The Beggar's Opera is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of satirical ballad opera to remain popular today. Ballad operas were satiric musical plays that used some of the conventions of opera, but without recitative. The lyrics of the airs in the piece are set to popular broadsheet ballads, opera arias, church hymns and folk tunes of the time.
Starring Troy Donahue and Andrea Dromm, the film features Dromm ("I'm an AGENT, not a spy!"), solving a murder case, rescuing a kidnap victim (Valerie Allen, Donahue's wife at the time of filming), breaking up a mastermind's (Albert Dekker) underwater bomb assassination plot of several world leaders, and dancing the new dance called "the Shark" on the Caribbean island of Jamaica. Smokey Robinson & the Miracles performed the film's titular theme song, written by lead singer Robinson.
Barbara Windsor - 'Sing A Rude Song' (Ron Grainer 1970)
Barbara Windsor - 'Sing A Rude Song' (Ron Grainer 1970)
The Threepenny Opera
The Threepenny Opera
Barbara Windsor in her dressing room at the Prince of Wales Theatre. Photograph: Neil Libbert/The Observer - In 1972, she appeared in the West End in Tony Richardson's The Threepenny Opera with Vanessa Redgrave.
Vanessa Redgrave.
Barbara Windsor still remembers all of her Carry On jokes, even through her Alzheimer's battle ( Image: Alamy Stock Photo)
Please click on the image above for more info on this Contemporary musical. Twelfth Night at the Chichester Festival Theatre 2007. What's On 2023..
Entertaining Mr Sloane // London Classic Theatre, UK and Ireland tour 2014.
When EastEnders was launched in 1985, the producers said they would not cast well-known actors (although Wendy Richard was a rare exception). Windsor has said that she would have liked to have been part of the original cast. By 1994, this policy was relaxed, and Windsor accepted an offer to join EastEnders. She took over the role of Peggy Mitchell (who was previously a minor character played by Jo Warne in 1991). Peggy was the widowed mother of established key characters Phil and Grant Mitchell, and younger sister Samantha. For this role, she received the Best Actress award at the 1999 British Soap Awards, and a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2009 British Soap Awards.
Windsor hosted two series of the BBC documentary Disaster Masters in 2005. Windsor provided the voice of the Dormouse in Walt Disney's live-action adaptation of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland (2010), directed by Tim Burton. Windsor appeared in the pantomime Dick Whittington at the Bristol Hippodrome over the Christmas/New Year period of 2010/2011. In September 2010, it was announced that Windsor would be fronting a TV campaign for online bingo site Jackpotjoy as the Queen of Bingo. She appeared as herself in one episode of Come Fly with Me in January 2011.
John Challis from Only Fools and Horses.
Top 10 Come Fly With Me Moments
Top 10 Come Fly With Me Moments.
From 2011 onwards, she regularly did presenting work for BBC Radio 2 music and showbusiness history programmes, and also was a regular stand in for Elaine Paige on Elaine Paige on Sunday.
Windsor was married three times, and had no children.
Ronnie Knight, (married 2nd March 1964, divorced January 1985)
Stephen Hollings, chef/restaurateur (married 12th April 1986 in Jamaica, divorced 1995)
Scott Mitchell, former actor and recruitment consultant (married 8th April 2000)
Prior to her marriage to Knight, Windsor had a one-night stand with East End criminal Reggie Kray, and a longer relationship with his older brother Charlie Kray. During the time of making her later Carry On films, she had a well-publicised affair with her fellow actor and co-star Sid James, which lasted 3 years until 1976. Windsor was initially uninterested in James, 24 years her senior, but later stated that she thought she would have sex with him once and then he would go away, but James reportedly became obsessed with Windsor and became suffocatingly possessive of her to the extent that during the Carry On London! tour, he shouted at Bernard Bresslaw because he had helped Windsor off the stage, the only reason being that Bresslaw had touched Windsor.
Windsor, who was married to Knight for more than 20 years, fell for him because of his 'dapper' dress sense.
Ronnie Knight (born 20th January 1934) is an English convicted criminal and former nightclub owner. On 4th January 1995, 16 days prior to his 61st birthday, Knight was sentenced to seven years imprisonment for handling £314,813 in stolen money from the 1983 £6m armed robbery at a Security Express depot in Shoreditch, East London. The two clubs Knight ran, the Artistes and Repertoire Club (known as the A&R) on Charing Cross Road and its neighbour Tin Pan Alley in Soho, London, were drinking establishments favoured by the criminal underworld. Knight’s clubs were profitable, and he had a sideline in pool tables. He also made a small fortune from his share in peep-show clubs.
Peter Stringfellow with Ronnie Knight Far Right.
In 1970, Knight’s brother, David, was stabbed to death in a pub in Islington by Alfredo "Italian Tony" Zomparelli, who himself was murdered in September 1974 after being released following a prison sentence for manslaughter. (Zomparelli had pleaded self-defence) After hitman George Bradshaw confessed to his involvement, and alleged Knight had paid him £1,000 for the task, Knight was arrested for the murder of Zomparelli and tried at the Old Bailey in 1980; Knight was acquitted. In his 1998 book, Memoirs and Confessions, Knight said he had hired a hitman, Nicky Gerard, to carry out the killing. (Gerard, who himself was later murdered, was acquitted at the same trial as Knight) in payback for the murder of his brother. Under the double jeopardy rules in force at the time, it meant he could not be tried a second time. In 2002, Knight again denied responsibility.
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Frances Shea (far left) and her husband, English gangster Reggie Kray (far right) with actress Barbara Windsor and her husband Ronnie Knight, at the El Morocco nightclub, Soho, London, 30 April 1965. Photograph: Larry Ellis/Getty Images
Ronnie Knight with Barbara Windsor.
Knight spent a decade on the run living in southern Spain's Costa del Sol, after fleeing on the night his brother was arrested in 1984 for a robbery at a Security Express depot the previous year. John Knight was later imprisoned for 22 years in June 1985 for co-arranging the robbery. Their other surviving brother James was among the other gang members along with Freddie Foreman and Cliford Saxe and received eight years for handling stolen money. While evading extradition in Spain, Knight ran an Indian restaurant named Mumtaz and an eponymous nightclub, RKnights, the scene of violent crimes including a physical attack upon Knight, but by the mid-1990s, he was in financial difficulties.
After returning to Britain in May 1994, Knight, aged 60, was jailed for seven years in January 1995 for handling £314,813 in stolen money from the £6m armed robbery at a Security Express depot in Shoreditch, East London in 1983. Knight said he was not involved in the robbery, and the prosecution counsel Michael Worsley QC agreed the charge should remain on file, but Knight did plead guilty to handling the stolen bank notes. Judge Gerald Gordon said when sentencing Knight: "Clearly, I do not know what precise role you played. But professional robbers such as those involved are not going to hand over the sort of sums you got unless the person to whom they give it is very deeply involved himself". In November 1998, Knight was released on parole after serving three years. In 1961, Knight was sentenced to 15 months in prison for dealing in stolen goods.
Windsor pouring champagne for her husband Ronnie Knight with her mother Rose in 1970. Knight has always denied he was a 'gangster', preferring instead the term 'loveable rascal'.
Reggie Kray, right, at a film premiere with actress Barbara Windsor and her husband Ronnie KnightCredit: Getty Images
Prior to her marriage to Knight, Windsor had a one-night stand with East End criminal Reggie Kray, and a longer relationship with his older brother Charlie Kray. During the time of making her later Carry On films, she had a well-publicised affair with her fellow actor and co-star Sid James, which lasted 3 years until 1976. Windsor was initially uninterested in James, 24 years her senior, but later stated that she thought she would have sex with him once and then he would go away, but James reportedly became obsessed with Windsor and became suffocatingly possessive of her to the extent that during the Carry On London! tour, he shouted at Bernard Bresslaw because he had helped Windsor off the stage, the only reason being that Bresslaw had touched Windsor.
James, who, like Windsor, was also already married, would send her a dozen red roses with a note attached with the words "Love Romeo" and even arranged to see her in Australia during her Carry On Barbara one-woman show, as he could not bear to be without her. He would also state his love for her in public and to Windsor's friends, but after the affair began damaging Windsor's mental health, she ended it. Devastated by her decision, James became depressed and started to drink strong whisky, and died soon after from a heart attack. Another of Windsor's Carry On co-stars, Kenneth Williams, accompanied Knight and her on their honeymoon, and also brought his mother and sister with him.
Kenneth Williams
Windsor also dated Gary Crosby in the 1960s, and had brief sexual encounters with Victor Mature, Anthony Newley, Ronnie Scott, James Booth, George Best, and Maurice Gibb, the latter two while she was still married to Ronnie Knight. In the late 1950s, Windsor became engaged to singer Cliff Lawrence, but he physically beat her. In her autobiography, All of Me, Windsor stated that she often turned up at Winston's, the club where she sang, with a black eye, and detailed one occasion when Lawrence dragged her down the street by her hair. Windsor ended the relationship and then started dating Ronnie Knight. Windsor said that Lawrence would spy on her and Knight from telephone boxes, and only left them alone after Knight threatened him
Barbara Windsor with Maurice Gibb.
Barbara Windsor with George Best.
In her autobiography, Windsor talked about her five abortions: three in her 20s, and the last at the age of 42. She said she never wanted children as a result of her father rejecting her after her parents' divorce. Windsor was best friends with fellow actor Anna Karen, whom she met while filming Carry On Camping and who later went on to play Peggy Mitchell's sister Aunt Sal in EastEnders for 20 years. Windsor was friends with Amy Winehouse and in 2012, became a patron of the Amy Winehouse Foundation and in 2014, Windsor unveiled the statue of Winehouse in Camden Market.
Aunt Sal is a recurring fictional character in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Anna Karen Introduced in 1996, she has appeared sporadically from 21st March 1996 until 29th December 1997, then from 28th September 2001 until 17th September 2004, 19th July 2007 until 4 April 2011 and 22 November 2013 to 20 January 2017. She appears for just a few episodes at a time and has been collectively featured in 57 episodes of the show. The character has, on occasion, been credited as Sal Martin, which was assumed to be her and Peggy's maiden name; however, Peggy's wedding certificate in October 2000 lists her father as Harry Thomas, therefore clarifying that Martin is Sal's married name.
Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse's parents Mitchell and Janis pose with Barbara Windsor after Winehouse's statue was unveiled at the Stables Market, Camden Town.
In April 2014, Windsor was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. She chose not to make the condition public, but it was known to her friends and colleagues. On 10 May 2018, Windsor's husband, Scott Mitchell, publicly revealed her condition. In January 2019, Mitchell and some of Windsor's former co-stars from EastEnders announced that they would be running the London Marathon in aid of a dementia campaign. Mitchell said that Windsor's health and mental state had been deteriorating, and she had moments when she no longer recognised him. On Windsor's 82nd birthday in August 2019, Mitchell and she became ambassadors for the Alzheimer's Society. On the same day, Mitchell and Windsor appeared in a video for the charity, in which Windsor said, "Unite with me, against dementia". Mitchell highlighted the problems many face with the disease, and urged viewers to sign a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, saying he "urgently needs to address these challenges."In August 2020, BBC News reported that Windsor had been moved into a care home in London.
Scott Mitchell was Barbara's third husband (Image: Getty Images)
Barbara Windsor's Husband Scott Discusses Her Alzheimer's | Ross Kemp Living With Dementia | ITV
Dame Barbara Windsor portrait unveiling
Barbara Windsor's Husband Scott Discusses Her Alzheimer's | Ross Kemp Living With Dementia | ITV
Adam Woodyatt, Natalie Cassidy and Jake Wood are among the EastEnders stars running the London Marathon in honour of Dame Barbara Windsor for a dementia campaign. The friends and former co-stars of the actress, whose battle with Alzheimer’s disease was revealed last year, are taking part in an all-star team called Barbara’s Revolutionaries. The team will run for the Dementia Revolution, a year-long campaign formed by dementia charities Alzheimer’s Society and Alzheimer’s Research UK, for the event’s Charity of the Year.
Barbara’s Revolutionaries members Kellie Shirley, Tanya Franks, Emma Barton, Jamie Borthwick, Jane Slaughter and Scott Mitchell (Dementia Revolution/Alzheimer’s Society/Alzheimer’s Research UK)
Dame Barbara’s husband Scott Mitchell will lead the team, which also includes EastEnders actors Emma Barton, Kellie Shirley, Tanya Franks, Jamie Borthwick and Jane Slaughter. They have united in support of the former EastEnders star, and hope to raise £100,000 to help ground-breaking research into dementia, as well as boosting awareness around the condition.
EastEnders stars complete London Marathon for dementia charities
EastEnders stars complete London Marathon for dementia charities.
'Give me a kiss and better dementia care' Barbara Windsor tells PM
'Give me a kiss and better dementia care' Barbara Windsor tells PM.
What is Alzheimer's disease?
Windsor died on 10 December 2020, aged 83. The next episode of EastEnders, broadcast on 11 December 2020, was dedicated to Windsor's memory. As well as this, the 2017 biopic Babs, which documented Windsor's life, was also broadcast. Among those who paid tributes to her were her EastEnders co-stars, entertainers, politicians including Boris Johnson, former Prime Minister David Cameron, Leader of the Opposition Keir Starmer, and members of the Royal family, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge—who described Windsor as "a true national treasure ... a giant of the entertainment world"—and Charles, Prince of Wales with his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.
What is Alzheimer's disease?
Windsor's funeral took place on 8 January 2021. Her body was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium. The service was attended by Anna Karen, Christopher Biggins, Ross Kemp, David Walliams, and Matt Lucas, amongst others, although numbers were limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Floral decorations on Windsor's coffin made out the words "The Dame", "Saucy" (Windsor's catchphrase in the Carry On films) and "The Queen Peggy". Windsor's funeral programme featured the famous photo of her in Carry On Camping, a photo that she said "will follow me right to the end"
The coffin of the late Dame Barbara Windsor.
Barbara Windsor with Christopher Biggins
A painted pub sign is carried into the venue for 'The Queen Peggy'.