Barbara Windsor

Barbara Windsor MBE
Windsor in 2010
Born	Barbara Ann Deeks (1937-08-06) 6 August 1937 Shoreditch, London, England
Nationality	British
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1950–present
Television	EastEnders (1994–2013)
Spouse(s)	Ronnie Knight (m. 1964–85, divorced) Stephen Hollings (m. 1986–95, divorced) Scott Mitchell (m. 2000)

Barbara Ann Deeks, known as Barbara Windsor, MBE (born 6 August 1937)^[1] is an English actress, best known for her appearances in the Carry On films and for playing Peggy Mitchell in the BBC One soap opera EastEnders.^[2]

Windsor began her career on stage at the age of 13 and made her West End debut in 1952. Her first film was The Belles of St Trinian's in 1954. She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best British Actress for the 1963 film Sparrers Can't Sing, and for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for the 1964 Broadway production of Oh, What A Lovely War!

She appeared in her first Carry On film, Carry on Spying, in 1964. Her other Carry On films include Carry on Doctor (1967), Carry on Camping (1969) and Carry on Abroad (1972). On stage, she appeared opposite Vanessa Redgrave in the 1972 West End production of The Threepenny Opera.

She joined the cast of EastEnders in 1994 and won the 1999 British Soap Award for Best Actress. She left the show in 2010, before returning for one episode in 2013.

Background

Born in Shoreditch, London in 1937,^[3] the only child of John Deeks, a costermonger, and his wife, formerly Rose Ellis, a dressmaker, Windsor is of English and Irish ancestry.^[4] She passed her 11-plus exams gaining a place at Our Lady’s Convent in Stamford Hill. Her mother paid for her to have elocution lessons, and she trained at the Aida Foster School in Golders Green, making her stage debut at 13 and her West End debut in 1952 in the chorus of the musical Love From Judy.

Her first film role was in The Belles of St Trinian's in 1954. She joined Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East, coming to prominence in their stage production Fings Ain't Wot They Used to Be and Littlewood's film Sparrers Can't Sing in 1963, achieving a BAFTA nomination for Best British Film Actress. She also appeared in the 1964 film comedy Crooks in Cloisters, the 1968 film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and in the sitcoms The Rag Trade and Wild, Wild Women. In 1980, Windsor appeared as "Saucy Nancy" in the second series of the ITV children's show Worzel Gummidge, based on the best-selling books by Barbara Euphan Todd.^{[citation needed]}

Carry On films

Windsor came to real 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 Carry On... film acting role was in Carry On Dick in 1974. She also appeared in several Carry On... television and compilation specials between 1964 and 1977.

One of her most iconic scenes was in Carry On Camping in 1969, where her bikini top flew off during outdoor aerobic exercises. In classic Carry On style, exposure is implied but little is in fact seen.^[5]

From 1973 to 1975 she appeared with several of the Carry On team in the West End revue Carry On London! During this time she had a well-publicised affair with her co-star, Sid James.^[6]

She was strongly identified with the Carry On films for many years, which restricted the variety of roles she was chosen to play later.

Theatre career

She also 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. She also appeared in Lionel Bart's musical flop Twang! (directed by Joan Littlewood) and in the musical Come Spy with Me with Danny La Rue.

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 his then wife, 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.

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.^{[citation needed]}

EastEnders

When the soap began in 1985, the producers said they would only cast unknown actors. The Shoreditch-born Windsor said that she regretted this, as she'd liked to have taken part.^[7]

By 1994 this policy was relaxed, and Windsor was cast in the series. She took over the role of Peggy Mitchell (previously played by Jo Warne in 1991), for which she received the Best Actress award at the British Soap Awards in 1999 and a Lifetime Achievement award from the same source in 2009.^{[citation needed]}

A debilitating case of the Epstein-Barr virus forced a two-year absence from the role between 2003 to 2005.^{[citation needed]}, although Windsor was able to make a two episode appearance in 2004. She rejoined the cast in mid-2005, initially on a one-year contract, though this was later extended.

The Doctor Who episode "Army of Ghosts" broadcast on 1 July 2006 included a specially recorded clip featuring her appearing in character. She was seen telling the ghost of Den Watts to "get outta my pub!" In November 2005, as part of the BBC's Children In Need charity night, a Catherine Tate Show/EastEnders mini episode was broadcast. It featured Windsor as Peggy in the Queen Victoria Public House, being tormented by Catherine Tate's schoolgirl character Lauren Cooper.

In October 2009 Windsor announced she was to quit her role as Peggy Mitchell, saying she wanted to spend more time with her husband.^[8] On 10 September 2010 her character left Albert Square after a fire at the Queen Victoria pub, of which she was the owner.^[9]

In July 2013, it was announced that Windsor was to return for one episode, which aired on 20 September 2013.^[10]

Recent years

Although Windsor recorded the single "Don't Dig Twiggy"/"Swinging London" (arranged by Mark Wirtz in 1967), it wasn't until 1999 that she made her UK Chart debut with fellow EastEnders cast member Mike Reid with "The More I See You", which reached number 44. Her debut album You've Got A Friend spent two weeks in the UK charts and peaked at number 45. In 2000, she was made an MBE in the Millennium Honours List, was inducted into the first BBC Hall of Fame and had a waxwork of her unveiled at Madame Tussauds. She also published her autobiography, All of Me.^{[citation needed]}

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.

Windsor examined her family tree in the first episode of the third series of the documentary series Who Do You Think You Are?, which aired on 6 September 2006, in which she traced her family tree back 11 generations to John Golding, the great-great-grandfather of the painter John Constable, making him Windsor's fourth cousin six times removed.^[11]

Windsor provided the voice of the Dormouse in Walt Disney's 2010 live action adaptation of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, directed by Tim Burton. The cast of the film also included Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and Anne Hathaway.^[12]

Windsor appeared in the pantomime Dick Whittington at the Bristol Hippodrome over the Christmas/New Year period of 2010/2011.^[13]

On 8 September 2010 it was announced that Windsor will be fronting a TV campaign for online bingo site Jackpotjoy as the Queen of Bingo.^[14]

On 9 October 2010 Windsor appeared on Piers Morgan's Life Stories^[15] and revealed she has become teetotal to help Mitchell with his "terrible alcohol problem".^[16]

In November 2010 she was honoured for her outstanding contribution to show business, at the Variety Club Showbiz Awards.^[17]

Since 2011 she has regularly stood in for Elaine Paige on her BBC Radio 2 show on Sunday afternoons between 1.00pm and 3.00pm.

Relationships and personal life

Windsor has married three times:

1. Ronnie Knight, Krays associate (married 2 March 1964,^[18] divorced January 1985)
2. Stephen Hollings, actor (married 12 April 1986 in Jamaica,^[19] divorced 1995)
3. Scott Mitchell, former actor and recruitment consultant (married 8 April 2000^[20])

During the 1960s, she also had a brief relationship with footballer George Best.^[21]

She had a well publicised affair with Sid James.^[21]

In her autobiography, All of Me, Windsor talks about her five abortions, the first three of which took place before the age of 21, the last when she was 42. She has said that she never wanted children as a result of her father rejecting her.^[22]

Over the years Windsor has made her home in a variety of locations. Amongst them, Sunday Times photographer Michael Ward's autobiography records her as living in Grand Parade, Harringay, in the early 1960s.^[23]

In August 2010, Windsor was given the Freedom of the City of London,^[24] and in November 2010, she was honoured by the City of Westminster at a tree planting and plaque ceremony.^[25][26]

In 2012 Windsor became a patron of the Amy Winehouse Foundation.^[27]

Filmography

Carry On films

Year	Film	Role
1964	Carry On Spying	Daphne Honeybutt
1967	Carry On Doctor	Nurse Sandra May
1969	Carry On Camping	Babs
	Carry On Again Doctor	Goldie Locks
1971	Carry On Henry	Bettina
1972	Carry On Matron	Nurse Susan Bell
	Carry On Abroad	Sadie Tomkins
1973	Carry On Girls	Hope Springs
1974	Carry On Dick	Harriet
1977	That's Carry On!	Barbara

Other films

Year	Film
1954	The Belles of St Trinian's
1955	A Kid for Two Farthings
1956	Lost
1959	Make Mine a Million
1960	Too Hot to Handle
1961	Flame in the Streets
	On the Fiddle
1962	Death Trap
	Hair of the Dog
1963	Sparrers Can't Sing
1964	Crooks in Cloisters
1965	San Ferry Ann
	A Study in Terror
1968	Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
1971	The Boy Friend
1973	Not Now, Darling
1987	It Couldn't Happen Here
2001	Second Star To The Left
2010	Alice in Wonderland

Theatre

Barbara Windsor has been active in the following theatre productions:^[28]

• Cinderella - Golders Green Hippodrome, London (1950)
• Love From Judy - Saville Theatre, London, followed by tour (1952–54)
• Many Happy Returns - Watergate Theatre, London (1955)
• Cabaret performances - Côte d'Azur, Soho, London (1955)
• Red Riding Hood - Shakespeare Theatre, Liverpool (1955/56)
• Singer with Ronnie Scott's band (1956)
• Variety at Winston's nightclub, Mayfair, London (1957–58)
• Keep Your Hair On - Apollo Theatre, London (1958)
• The Gimmick - toured to Leeds and Wolverhampton (1958)
• Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be - Theatre Royal, Stratford (1959/60), then Garrick Theatre, both London (1960–62)
• Oh! What a Lovely War - Broadhurst Theatre, New York City (1964)
• Twang! - try-out at Palace Theatre, Manchester, then Shaftesbury Theatre, London (1965)
• Come Spy with Me - try-outs at Theatre Royal, Brighton, New Theatre, Oxford and Golders Green Hippodrome, then Whitehall Theatre, London (1966–67)
• The Beggar's Opera - Connaught Theatre, Worthing (1967)
• The Wind in the Sassafras Trees - Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, followed by tour (1968)
• Sing A Rude Song - Greenwich Theatre, then Garrick Theatre, both London (1970)
• Cinderella - Theatre Royal, Norwich (1970/71)
• Cinderella - Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool (1971/72)
• The Threepenny Opera - Prince of Wales Theatre, then Piccadilly Theatre, both London (1972)
• The Owl and the Pussycat - toured to Bath, Richmond and Sheffield (1972)
• Cinderella - Odeon Theatre, Golders Green, London (1972/73)
• Carry On London! - try-out at Birmingham Hippodrome (1973), then Victoria Palace Theatre, London (1973–75)
• Carry On Barbara! and A Merry Whiff of Windsor - tours of Australia, New Zealand, UK and South Africa (1975)
• Aladdin - Richmond Theatre (1975/76)
• Twelfth Night - Festival Theatre, Chichester (1976)
• Aladdin - Alhambra Theatre, Bradford (1976/77)
• Aladdin - Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham (1977/78)
• Dick Whittington - Ashcroft Theatre, Croydon (1978/79)
• Calamity Jane - British tour (1979)
• Dick Whittington - Richmond Theatre (1979/80)
• Jack and the Beanstalk - Theatre Royal, Newcastle upon Tyne (1980/81)
• Entertaining Mr Sloane - Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, London (1981)
• The Mating Game - summer season at Grand Theatre, Blackpool (1981)
• Aladdin - Theatre Royal, Nottingham (1981/82)
• The Mating Game - British tour (1982)
• Aladdin - New Theatre, Oxford (1982/83)
• The Mating Game - summer season at Floral Hall, Scarborough (1983)
• Aladdin - Festival Theatre, Chichester (1983/84)
• The Mating Game - summer season at Jersey Opera House (1984)
• Dick Whittington - Orchard Theatre, Dartford (1984/85)
• What a Carry On in Butlins! (1985)
• Aladdin - Theatre Royal, Nottingham (1985/86)
• Dick Whittington - Beck Theatre, Hayes (1986/87)
• Babes in the Wood - London Palladium (1987/88)
• Guys and Dolls - British tour (1988)
• Babes in the Wood - Churchill Theatre, Bromley (1988/89)
• The Mating Game - summer season at Pier Theatre, Bournemouth (1989)
• Cinderella - Gordon Craig Theatre, Stevenage (1989/90)
• Cinderella - Wimbledon Theatre, London (1990/91)
• Guys and Dolls - Theatre Royal, Plymouth, followed by tour (1991)
• Aladdin - Derngate Theatre, Northampton (1991/92)
• Wot a Carry On in Blackpool! - North Pier Theatre, Blackpool (1992)
• Cinderella - Theatre Royal, Brighton (1992/93)
• Entertaining Mr Sloane - Churchill Theatre, Bromley, followed by tour (1993–94)
• Aladdin - Gordon Craig Theatre, Stevenage (1993/94)
• Aladdin - The Anvil, Basingstoke (1994/95)
• Cinderella - Orchard Theatre, Dartford (1995/96)
• Dick Whittington - Bristol Hippodrome (2010/11)

References

External links

• Barbara Windsor at the Internet Movie Database
• Barbara Windsor at bbc.co.uk
• Barbara Windsor local research for Who Do You Think You Are at Bures, Suffolk
• Barbara Windsor's appearance on This Is Your Life

Authority control WorldCat VIAF: 33801246 LCCN: n2001025036 ISNI: 0000 0001 1052 501X

Persondata
Name	Windsor, Barbara
Alternative names	Windsor, Barbara Ann
Short description	Actress
Date of birth	6 August 1937
Place of birth	London, England
Date of death
Place of death