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Following the death of Barbara Windsor last week at the age of 83, we bring you the television legend’s story – in her own words.
Sun writer Mike Ridley adapted her book All Of Me: My Extraordinary Life, and today you can read all about Dame Barbara’s time in EastEnders, from the physical illness on her first day to the bonds she had with her lover has built co-stars.
I was doing my one-woman show, but by almost 57 years old, I was getting too old to drag around the country kicking my legs in the air.
At the beginning of 1994 I was at a Mike Reid party and told a young woman that I would like to play a character my age.
It turned out that Jane Deitch was the casting director for EastEnders and not long after I auditioned for the role of Peggy Mitchell.
Ross Kemp and Steve McFadden, who played the Mitchell brothers Grant and Phil, came in on a holiday to play a few scenes.
The first scene was dramatic. I didn’t stir a line even though my stomach was in my mouth all the way through.
The second one was a bit frivolous, but I was even more nervous because I didn’t giggle and even wanted to look at the Carry On Lady.
I went back to the locker room fearful I wouldn’t have done well, but the three producers who saw my appearance on a television screen all smiled.
Jane had tears in her eyes now. She said, « The only thing we all thought Barbara Windsor didn’t do was vulnerability. Good God, vulnerability seeped out of you. ”
Excited but embarrassed, I said, « With what I’ve been through in my life, I’m good at vulnerability, darlings. ”
Then Ross found me and asked if he could show me the set. That touched me. He could have easily shot to enjoy the remains of the day.
As we walked around Albert Square, he smiled at me and said, “I know this will be your home for you Barbara. He was right, this famous place would be my home for the next 16 years.
On the first day of shooting, Ross suggested taking a walk to calm my nerves. We had only walked 50 meters before I threw up in front of the Deals On Wheels car park.
Ross said he found it very charming that such a well-known woman should be so nervous.
Although I’ve never had strong maternal instincts, I feel like a good mother.
My cloakroom door was always open to any young person who had a problem. And of course I always had one or the other aspirin or condom.
After four months, not only was my contract renewed, but the producers made me the Queen Vic’s new landlady.
As Peggy Mitchell, I was responsible for a fictional drunkard, but it was a real pub that was about to be my doom.
I still owned The Plow in Amersham, Bucks with my estranged second husband, Stephen Hollings, and it was losing money so quickly that I discovered I was responsible for £ 1 million in debt.
There was no way I could pay for that. I hadn’t made that much money in all my years in show business together.
The debt was more than the deal was worth, but Stephen refused to sell his « baby ». . But the baby got sicker and only my money kept the bailiffs in check.
To make matters worse, as I got more famous, my new friend Scott Mitchell, who lived with me in Marylebone, became an alcoholic and went out.
Scott had admitted that he felt that life was just not worth living and that he was worried about being a burden to me. He believed it would be better all round if he were dead.
Danniella was in EastEnders long before I did, and I thought she was an accomplished actress.
One minute you could talk to her at the Queen Vic and the next she would be sinking asleep over the bar. Then she would wake up and start talking to the dozen nineteen.
We may be rehearsing a scene where breakfast comes by and Danniella shoves a load of eggs and sausages down her throat.
She really was a mess. I remember Mike Reid (Frank Butcher) telling me, « Oh god, such a pretty face, and it’s aging before us. ”
The EastEnders bosses gave Danniella a chance after a chance, but she was so unreliable that she did not extend filming in 1995 because she was late or never showed up.
When Danniella heard about it on the vine, she called me and pleaded: « You will stand by me, mom, you will stand up for me, won’t you? »
I asked the executive producer to give her another chance. But when Danniella arrived, she looked terrible.
She had been in a car accident and the septum of her nose, weakened by snorting cocaine, had collapsed and had one large nostril instead of two.
I took her to one of the best plastic surgeons on Harley Street to fix her nose.
EastEnders wanted to give her six weeks off for treatment, but next we knew she would go « by mutual agreement » because she had a movie to come.
I was happy for her, but my sympathy and understanding for the young lady was out of place.
Just before the turn of the millennium, the BBC wanted to do a one-hour Hall of Fame show about me.
Danniella was asked to dance with Cheryl Baker, Linda Lusardi, and Sophie Lawrence on the show. But she missed all rehearsals and had someone call her to say she had a « cold ». .
I woke up in the morning afraid to go to the studios. I felt totally drained from all of the crying and emotional tension.
When I saw myself in the mirror, I looked terrible too. I had a long scene with Ross and wondered how I was going to do it.
Until then, I had never taken my personal life to work, even when my first husband Ronnie Knight was charged with murder.
The scene Ross and I had to make was out in Albert Square and we had to rehearse it for camera angles and lighting.
When I opened my mouth to speak, tears ran down my cheeks. Ross frowned: « Are you okay? » I lied, « Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. ”
We tried again, but Ross knew something was wrong. He asked the director to stop shooting. And then I told him and I burst into tears.
Ross adored Scott. « Oh god, » he said, putting his arms around me. I fought back the tears and said, « Let’s get through the scene, darling. ”
When we finished, Ross came into my dressing room and sat and listened to my heart sob.
Fortunately, Scott solved his drinking problem, got a recruiting job, and we got married in 2000.
When the bosses at EastEnders asked for story ideas, I suggested that Peggy be diagnosed with breast cancer to help raise awareness about women, and they agreed.
My delight in Peggy’s upcoming fame was put into perspective shortly before filming when Wendy Richard, who played Pauline Fowler, developed breast cancer herself.
I went to the script department expecting to hear Peggy’s plot being dropped, but was told it was too far advanced to be dragged.
The public response was amazing: I received thousands of letters expressing appreciation for the attention paid to the dangers of breast cancer and inviting people to charity events.
Years later, Peggy would find that her cancer had returned and that she would have a mastectomy just two weeks before her wedding to Frank Butcher.
It was a wonderful moment for me to have my picture taken with the Queen – even if I was a little embarrassed that I wore the same color dress as Her Majesty.
Even though Wendy Richard had been at EastEnders for a lot longer than me, I was at the head of the line when the Queen met some of the cast at the Broadcasting House.
Standing next to Gilly Taylforth, Patsy Palmer and Adam Woodyatt, I couldn’t resist asking Her Majesty if she had ever seen EastEnders.
Mine was Susan Tully, and she had played Michelle Fowler in EastEnders for years before starting a career on the other side of the camera.
Susan filmed two emotional scenes after Peggy’s chest was removed – the first when she was leaving the hospital and the other when she was left alone upstairs and opened her robe in front of the mirror to look at the scar.
Around 850. 000 people in the UK live with dementia and someone develops the disease every three minutes.
Sun readers can do their part this Christmas by donating to Alzheimer’s Research UK at alzheimersresearchuk in Babs’ memory. org or by phone on 0300 111 5555.
It would have been easy to break down and sob, but Sue wanted Peggy’s pain to come out gradually and the tears to slowly run down her face.
My exhaustion finally caught up with me and I was faced with the moment that all actors dread – I forgot my lines.
It was something that was going to happen more and more before I had to give up EastEnders for good – the dream job I had hoped would go on forever.
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Barbara Windsor, Carry On, EastEnders, Peggy Mitchell, Scott Mitchell
World News – UK – « I was owed a million pounds . . . Albert Square was the answer to all of my prayers. « said Babs
Ref: https://www.thesun.co.uk