Barbara Windsor | |
---|---|
Windsor in 2010 | |
Born | Barbara Ann Deeks 6 August 1937 Shoreditch, London, England |
Died | 10 December 2020 London, England | (aged 83)
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1950–2017[1] |
Spouse(s) | Stephen Hollings
(m. 1986; div. 1995)Scott Mitchell
(m. 2000; died 2020) |
Dame Barbara Windsor, DBE (born Barbara Ann Deeks; 6 August 1937 – 10 December 2020)[2] was an English actress, known for her appearances 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 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.[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!. 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.
Windsor was born in Shoreditch, London, in 1937 (her birth was registered in Stepney),[5] the only child of John Deeks, a costermonger, and his wife, Rose (née Ellis), a dressmaker.[6] The family lived in Angela Street. One of her maternal great-grandmothers, Mary, was the daughter of Irish immigrants who fled Ireland to Great Britain between 1846 and 1851 to escape the Irish Potato Famine.[7] In 1939 at the start of WWII, Windsor's father was called up for the war and she and her mother went to live with her mother's relatives in Yoakley Road, Stoke Newington where Windsor attended St Mary's Infants' School in nearby Lordship Road.[8] During , Windsor's mother initially refused to let her be evacuated, but conceded after one of Windsor's school friends was killed by a bomb.[9] She was evacuated to Blackpool to live with a married couple, although they sexually abused her. One of Windsor's friends, Mary, who lived a couple of houses away heard Windsor's screams and alerted her own parents who called the authorities. The couple were arrested and it was revealed that they were not married but brother and sister.[10] Windsor moved in with Mary and her parents although they struggled to cope with her loud behaviour. They sent Windsor and Mary to dancing school which sparked her interest in performing, although one night after a class, Mary's mother walked Windsor and Mary home, when Windsor found Mary's father kissing another woman in a bus shelter.[11] Humiliated by this, Mary's mother sent her back to London in 1944 along with a note from Windsor's dance teacher which read: “Barbara is a born show-off who loves to perform.”[6]
Impressed by this, Windsor's mother sent her to Madame Behenna's Juvenile Jolities, a drama school at which she appeared in several charity concerts and pantomimes. After the war, she passed her 11-plus exams, scoring the best marks in North London, and earned a scholarship for a place at Our Lady's Convent in Stamford Hill[6] although she was expelled because she argued with the Reverend Mother after she refused to let her have time off to appear in a pantomime.[12] Instead, her mother paid for her to have elocution lessons, and Windsor began training at the Aida Foster School in Golders Green. 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.[13] 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.[14] She took the stage name Windsor in 1953, inspired by the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.[15] By the time Windsor was sixteen, Windsor's parents' divorced and Windsor was unwillingly made to testify against her father in court. [16] Awarded to her mother, after the divorce Windsor ran up to her father but he just carried on walking, ignoring her. Every time he saw her, whether he walked past her house or his bus drove past, he blanked Windsor.[17]
Shortly after, Windsor made her film debut as an uncredited extra in 1954 playing a schoolgirl in The Belles of St. Trinians.[18] She follwed this with several other uncredited roles until she appeared in Too Hot to Handle with Jayne Mansfield. Mansfield demanded Windsor to appear at the back of the scene they shared as she was worried Windsor's blonde hair and large chest would overshadow her own.[19] After this, Windsor made her television debut when Johnny Brandon, whom Windsor had starred with in Love from Judy, asked her to appear in his television series Dreamer's Highway. Windsor later appearing 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.[6][20]
She joined Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East,[21] coming to prominence in their stage production Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be[21] and Littlewood's film Sparrows Can't Sing (1963), achieving a BAFTA nomination for Best British Film Actress.[22] She also appeared in the comedy film Crooks in Cloisters (1964),[23] the fantasy film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) and Ken Russell's musical film The Boy Friend (1971), as well as the TV sitcoms The Rag Trade and Wild, Wild Women.[24]
Windsor came to prominence with her portrayals of a "good-time girl"[25] in nine Carry On films. Her first was Carry On Spying in 1964 and her final Carry On... film acting role was in Carry On Dick in 1974.[26] She also appeared in several Carry On... television and compilation specials between 1964 and 1977.[27]
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.[28]
From 1973 to 1975, she appeared with several of the Carry On team in the West End revue Carry On London!.[29]
She was strongly identified with the Carry On films for many years, which restricted the roles she was chosen to play later in her career.[30]
Windsor starred on Broadway in the Theatre Workshop's Oh, What a Lovely War! and received a 1965 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.[6] She also appeared in several stage productions including Lionel Bart's musical flop Twang!! (1965) (directed by Joan Littlewood), The Beggar's Opera (1967), Come Spy with Me(1966-67) with Danny La Rue and in thirty pantomimes between 1950 and 2011.[6]
In 1970, she landed the role of music hall legend Marie Lloyd in the musical-biopic Sing A Rude Song. In 1972 she appeared in the West End in Tony Richardson's The Threepenny Opera with Vanessa Redgrave. In 1975, she toured the UK, New Zealand and South Africa in her own show, Carry On Barbara!, and followed this with the role of Maria in Twelfth Night at the Chichester Festival Theatre.[6]
In 1981, she played sex-mad landlady Kath in Joe Orton's black comedy Entertaining Mr Sloane at the Lyric Hammersmith, directed by her friend Kenneth Williams. She reprised the role for a national tour in 1993.[31]
She was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1992 when she was surprised by Michael Aspel on stage at the Theatre Royal, Windsor.[32]
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.[33] 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), for which she received the Best Actress award at the 1999 British Soap Awards,[34] and a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2009 British Soap Awards.[6]
A debilitating case of the Epstein–Barr virus forced a two-year absence from the role between 2003 and 2005, although Windsor was able to make a two-episode guest appearance in 2004. She rejoined the cast full-time in the summer of 2005. In October 2009, Windsor announced she was to leave her role as Peggy Mitchell, saying she wanted to spend more time with her husband.[35] On 10 September 2010, her character left Albert Square after a fire destroyed the Queen Victoria pub, of which she was the owner.[36]
In July 2013, it was announced that Windsor was to return for one episode, which aired on 20 September 2013.[37] She again returned for a single episode on 25 September 2014,[38] and made a further appearance for EastEnders 30th anniversary on 17 February 2015.[39] In February 2015, Windsor, along with Pam St. Clement (Pat Evans), took part in EastEnders: Back to Ours to celebrate 30 years of EastEnders. Windsor and St. Clement looked back on some of their characters' most dramatic moments.[40]
In November 2015, Windsor secretly filmed a return to EastEnders, which was shown in January 2016. After this, it was confirmed that the character would be killed off later in the year. This was Windsor's decision, as she said that as long as Peggy was alive, she would always be drawn back to playing her.[41] Her last appearance aired on BBC One on 17 May 2016.[42]
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.[43] Windsor appeared in the pantomime Dick Whittington at the Bristol Hippodrome over the Christmas/New Year period of 2010/2011.[44] In September 2010, it was announced that Windsor would be fronting a TV campaign for online bingo site Jackpotjoy as the Queen of Bingo.[45] She appeared as herself in one episode of Come Fly with Me in January 2011.[46]
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. She reprised her voice role of the Dormouse in the film Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016).[47]
In May 2017, Windsor appeared in a cameo role as herself in BBC Television's biopic about her life, Babs, written by EastEnders scriptwriter Tony Jordan. It showed Windsor in the 1990s as she prepared to go on stage and recalled events from her life, including her childhood, marriage to gangster Ronnie Knight, and her roles in the Carry On films.[48]
Windsor was married three times, and had no children.
Before her marriage to Ronnie Knight, she had a one-night stand with East End criminal Reggie Kray, and an affair with his older brother Charlie Kray.[52] During the time of making the Carry On films she had an affair with fellow actor and co-star, Sid James which lasted 10 years until his death in 1976.[2] Another of Windsor's Carry On co-stars, Kenneth Williams, accompanied her and Knight on their honeymoon.[53]
In her 2000 autobiography, All of Me, Windsor talked about her five abortions, the first three of which took place in her twenties and the last when she was 42. She said she never wanted children as a result of her father rejecting her after her parents' divorce.[54]
Windsor had a friendship with the late Amy Winehouse, and in 2012, she became a patron of the Amy Winehouse Foundation.[55]
In April 2014, Windsor was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and 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.[56] 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.[57] Mitchell said that Windsor's health and mental state had been deteriorating, and there had been moments when she no longer recognised him.[58]
On Windsor's 82nd birthday in August 2019, she and Mitchell 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."[59]
In August 2020, BBC News reported that Windsor had been moved into a care home in London.[60] She died on 10 December 2020, aged 83.[61][62] The 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.[63] Among those who paid tributes to her were her EastEnders co-stars, entertainers, politicians including Boris Johnson, former Prime Minister David Cameron and Leader of the Opposition Keir Starmer, and members of the Royal family Prince William—who described Windsor as "a true national treasure ... a giant of the entertainment world"—and Prince Charles, with his wife Camilla.[64][65][66]
Windsor was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2000 New Year Honours. In August 2010, she was given the Freedom of the City of London,[67] and in November 2010, she was honoured by the City of Westminster at a tree planting and plaque ceremony.[68]
She was inducted into the Hackney Empire Walk of Fame on 25 May 2017.[69][70]
She was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to charity and entertainment.[71][72]
In November 2014, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of East London.[73]
Country | Date | Appointment | Post-nominal letters |
---|---|---|---|
![]() |
2000 – 2016 | Member of Order of the British Empire (Civil Division) | MBE |
![]() |
2016 – 10 December 2020 | Dame Commander of Order of the British Empire (Civil Division) | DBE |
Location | Date | School | Position |
---|---|---|---|
![]() |
2015–10 December 2020 | Royal Central School of Speech and Drama | Honorary Fellow [74] |
Location | Date | School | Degree | Gave Commencement Address |
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![]() |
20 November 2014 | University of East London | Doctor of Arts (D.Arts)[75] | Yes |
Year | Title | Role | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
1964 | Carry On Spying | Daphne Honeybutt (codename Brown Cow) | [27] |
1967 | Carry On Doctor | Nurse Sandra May | [27] |
1969 | Carry On Camping | Babs | [27] |
Carry On Again Doctor | Goldie Locks (real name Maud Boggins) | [27] | |
1971 | Carry On Henry | Bettina | [27] |
1972 | Carry On Matron | Nurse Susan Ball | [27] |
Carry On Abroad | Sadie Tomkins | [27] | |
1973 | Carry On Girls | Hope Springs (real name Muriel Bloggs) | [27] |
1974 | Carry On Dick | Harriet | [27] |
1977 | That's Carry On! | Barbara Windsor | [27] |
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1954 | The Belles of St. Trinian's | Schoolgirl | Uncredited role | [18][77] |
1956 | Lost | Young Girl in Chemist | [27] | |
1959 | Make Mine a Million | Switchboard operator | [27] | |
1960 | Too Hot to Handle | Ponytail | [27] | |
1961 | Flame in the Streets | Girlfriend | Uncredited role | [78] |
On the Fiddle | Mavis | [27] | ||
1962 | Hair of the Dog | Elsie Grumble | [27] | |
Death Trap | Babs Newton | [27] | ||
1963 | Sparrows Can't Sing | Maggie | [27] | |
1964 | Crooks in Cloisters | Bikini | [27] | |
1965 | San Ferry Ann | Hiker Girl | [27] | |
A Study in Terror | Annie Chapman | [27] | ||
1968 | Chitty Chitty Bang Bang | Blonde | [27] | |
1971 | The Boy Friend | Hortense | [27] | |
1973 | Not Now, Darling | Sue Lawson | [27] | |
1986 | Comrades | Mrs. Wetham | [79] | |
1987 | It Couldn't Happen Here | Seaside landlady / Neil's mother | [27] | |
2001 | Second Star to the Left | Babs | Voice role | [80] |
2010 | Alice in Wonderland | Mallymkun | [27] | |
2016 | Alice Through the Looking Glass | [27] |
Years | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1954–1955 | Dreamer's Highway | 2 episodes | [81] | |
1961–1963 | The Rag Trade | Gloria | 15 episodes | [27] |
1962 | The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre | Babs Newton | Episode: "Death Trap" | [27] |
A Christmas Night with the Stars | Gloria | The Rag Trade segment | [82] | |
1963 | The Plane Makers | Marlene | Episode: "Any More for the Skylark?" | [83] |
The Rag Trade | Judy | 8 episodes | [27] | |
1964 | Comedy Playhouse | Cynthia Spooner | Episode: "The Hen House" | [84] |
1967 | Before the Fringe | 2 episodes | [84] | |
1968–1969 | Wild, Wild Women | Millie | All 7 episodes | [27] |
1968 | Dad's Army | Laura la Plaz | Episode: "Shooting Pains" | [27] |
1968 | Ooh La La! | Chiquette/Giboulette | 2 episodes | [85][86] |
1969 | The Rolf Harris Show | Maid Marion | Episode #3.12 | [81] |
Carry on Christmas | Cinderella Fanny Spirit of Christmas Present |
[27] | ||
1970 | Comedy Playhouse | Polly | Episode: "Meter Maids" | [84] |
Up Pompeii! | Nymphia | Episode: "Guess Who's Coming to Sin'Er Nymphia" | [84] | |
Carry on Christmas | Jim Hawkins | [27] | ||
1972 | Carry on Christmas | Milk Maiden Eve Maid Miss Clodhopper Aladdin |
[27] | |
1973 | Ooh La La! | The Shrimp | Episode: "The Lady from Maxims" | [81] |
The Bob Monkhouse Offensive | Stripper | [27] | ||
Carry on Christmas | Virginia Crompet Fanny Fifi Ballerina Lady Frances |
[27] | ||
1975 | Carry On Laughing | Vera Basket | Episode: "The Prisoner of Spenda" | [27] |
Marie | Episode: "The Baron Outlook" | [27] | ||
Sarah | Episode: "The Sobbing Cavalier" | [27] | ||
Lady Miranda | Episode: "Orgy and Bess" | [27] | ||
Maisie | Episode: "The Nine Old Cobblers" | [27] | ||
Lottie | Episode: "Who Needs Kitchener?" | [27] | ||
Lady Mary | Episode: "Lamp-Posts of the Empire" | [27] | ||
1977 | The Punch Review | Various | Episode #1.3 | [81] |
Come Spy with Me | Mavis Apple | [27] | ||
1980 | Worzel Gummidge | Saucy Nancy | 4 episodes | [27] |
1987 | Filthy Rich & Catflap | Mum | Episode #1.1 | [27] |
Super Gran | Ethel | Episode: "Supergran and the Heir Apparent" | [27] | |
1988 | The Nephew | Aunty Vicky | 3 episodes | [27] |
Terry in Pantoland | [87] | |||
1989 | Norbert Smith: A Life | Greenham Women's Leader | [27] | |
Bluebirds | Mabel Fletcher | 6 episodes | [88] | |
1990 | Family Fortunes | Fairy | Episode: "Celebrity Christmas Special 2" | [27] |
1991 | You Rang M'Lord? | Myrtle | 2 episodes | [89] |
1992 | Double Vision | Snow Queen Boss | [27] | |
1993 | Frank Stubbs | Barbara Windsor | Episode: "Starlet" | |
The Great Bong | Mabel | Voice[27] | ||
1994–2010, 2013–2016 | EastEnders | Peggy Mitchell | Series regular, 1,668 episodes | [27] |
1994 | Pussy in Boots | Wandawoman | [90] | |
1995 | One Foot in the Grave | Millicent | Episode: "The Affair of the Hollow Lady" | [81] |
1999 | The Nearly Complete and Utter History of Everything | Highwayman Robbery Victim | [27] | |
2000 | Cor, Blimey! | Barbara Windsor | [27] | |
2001 | Second Star to the Left | Babs | Voice role | [91] |
2006 | Doctor Who | Peggy Mitchell | Episode: "Army of Ghosts" | [92] |
2011 | Little Crackers | Shop Assistant | Episode: "My First Brassiere" | [84] |
Come Fly With Me | Barbara Windsor | Episode 4 | [93] | |
2015 | Children in Need | Barbara Windsor | Star Wars sketch | [84] |
2017 | Babs | Barbara Windsor | Television film | [81] |
Presented content of the Wikipedia article was extracted in 2020-12-20 based on https://en.wikipedia.org/?curid=158991