‘Barbara was full of humour, drama and a fighting spirit until the end'

As her husband announces her passing, new looks back at the career of film and soap legend Dame Barbara Windsor

- Anna Matheson

With her bouncy blonde curls and infectious laugh, Barbara Windsor was destined to become an entertainment industry icon. After finding fame for her risqué performances in the Carry On films, Barbara cemented herself as the queen of British soaps playing EastEnders’ feisty pub landlady Peggy Mitchell with her infamous catchphrase, “Get outta my pub!”

So when Barbara’s husband, Scott Mitchell, announced that she’d passed away peacefully aged 83 on the evening of 10 December, the showbiz world reacted with sorrow at losing one of its greats.

“Barbara’s final weeks were typical of how she lived her life. Full of humour, drama and a fighting spirit until the end,” Scott said when revealing her death.

Born Barbara Deeks to bus conductor John and dressmaker Rose in Shoreditch, east London, in 1937, Barbara was evacuated to Blackpool during the Second World War, before returning to her home city in 1944. She made her stage debut aged 13, racking up theatre appearances in Oh! What A Lovely War and Fings Ain’t Wot They Used T’Be.

She appeared alongside Sir Sean Connery in On The Fiddle in 1961, before being nominated for a Best Actress BAFTA for her role in kitchen-sink film classic Sparrows Can’t Sing in 1963.