'The whole country is in mourning today'

Carry On star turned EastEnders matriarch Barbara Windsor, has died at the age of 83.

Her husband of 21 years, Scott Mitchell said she had died peacefully from Alzheimer's at a London care home on Thursday evening saying she would be remembered for the ‘love, fun, friendship and brightness she brought’.

He added: ‘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.’

Dame Barbara made her film debut as a schoolgirl in The Belles of St Trinian's in 1954 and  appeared in nine of the 31Carry On films, including Carry On Camping and Carry On Doctor, pictured.

She was nominated for a Bafta for her role in the 1960 kitchen-sink drama  Sparrows Can't Sing; appeared in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the Broadway run of the groundbreaking musical Oh, What a Lovely War! on Broadway in 1965.

Dame Barbara  made her debut in EastEnders in 1994, and playing Queen Vic landlady Peggy Mitchell until 2010, followed by the occasional guest appearance.

Little Britain star Matt Lucas, who starred with her in Tim Burton’s  Alice in Wonderland  films  was among those paying tribute this morning  saying: ‘It’s not an overstatement to say I think the whole country is in mourning today.’

And Ade Edmondson remembered: 'Babs was once in Filthy, Rich & Catflap which was filmed in front of a live audience. There was a tech fault, the lights went off and they couldn’t get them back on. Babs pipes up: "It’s alright my darlings, we’re all stars - we can fucking twinkle".'

Even Boris Johnson was moved to tweet: 'So sad about Barbara Windsor, so much more than a great pub landlady & Carry On star. She campaigned for the lonely and the vulnerable - and cheered the world up with her own British brand of harmless sauciness & innocent scandal. Thoughts with Scott and all her family & friends.'

In a statement the  Alzheimer's Society said: ‘Dame Barbara Windsor was an amazingly true, much-loved national treasure, and in speaking out about her experiences shone like a beacon for others affected by dementia.’

Published: 11 Dec 2020