Barbara Windsor

Dame
Barbara Windsor
DBE
Windsor in 2010
Born
Barbara Ann Deeks

(1937-08-06)6 August 1937
Shoreditch, London, England
Died10 December 2020(2020-12-10) (aged 83)
Stanmore, London, England
Resting placeGolders Green Crematorium
OccupationActress
Years active1950–2017[1]
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1964; div. 1985)​
Stephen Hollings
​
​
(m. 1986; div. 1995)​
Scott Mitchell
​
(m. 2000)​
Windsor's voice
recorded in 2012, as part of an audio description of the Theatre Royal Stratford East for VocalEyes

Dame Barbara Windsor DBE (born Barbara Ann Deeks; 6 August 1937 – 10 December 2020)[2] 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.[3] She joined the cast of EastEnders in 1994 and won the 1999 British Soap Award for Best Actress, before 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.[4] 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!. Windsor also starred in all four "Carry On Christmas" Thames TV specials, and appeared in both series of the 1975 ATV sitcom "Carry On Laughing". Outside of Carry On, 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 the British Soap Award for Outstanding Achievement in 2010, as well as the Freedom of the City of London in 2010.

  1. ^ Rigney, Catriona (10 January 2019). "EastEnders legend Barbara Windsor needs 24/7 care as star's husband reveals her health has taken a rapid decline". OK!. Archived from the original on 25 January 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  2. ^ "Dame Barbara Windsor: Carry On and EastEnders actress dies aged 83". BBC News. 11 December 2020. Archived from the original on 11 December 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  3. ^ " Ten Things You Never Knew About Barbara Windsor" Archived 21 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine Digital Spy 23 May 2007
  4. ^ "Career highlights: Barbara Windsor" Archived 10 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine The Telegraph 10 May 2016