Born this date in 1937 was actress Barbara Windsor. 10 facts about her.
She was born in East London as Barbara Ann Deeks, after ice skater Barbara Ann Scott, of whom her parents were fans. Her father was a bus conductor who also ran a fruit and veg stall; her mother was a dressmaker. Her mother’s grandmother came to England from Ireland during the potato famine.
Barbara’s parents would eventually divorce and her father totally rejected her to the extent that he would ignore her if they passed in the street. It was his rejection of her which sealed her decision not to have children of her own.
At the age of six, she was evacuated to Blackpool during world war 2. Her mother had resisted sending her at first but when one of Barbara's classmates was killed in an air raid she changed her mind. Initially, she was placed with a couple who tried to abuse her, but she screamed and neighbours called the police. She was then placed with a schoolfriend and her parents, although they struggled with her because she was a bit too loud for them. It was they who first sent her to dance school where she was bitten by the showbiz bug.
Returning to London, her mother continued sending her to dance, drama and singing lessons, and also elocution lessons. By now, her parents were moving towards divorce and the lessons provided a welcome distraction from troubles at home. Even here, things didn’t always go smoothly. Once, her father showed up at one of the shows in his bus conductor’s uniform which resulted in the other girls making fun of her. Barbara retaliated by throwing theatrical face powder over them and the adult who tried to stop her.
She adopted the stage name Windsor in 1953, soon after the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Perhaps she knew even then that one day she’d be showbiz royalty! The Royals didn’t seem to hold it against her – several of them later became big fans and she was made a dame by the Queen in 2016.
She was in the chorus line of a West End show called Love From Judy at 15 and also appeared as a feral schoolgirl in the 1954 film, The Belles of St Trinian’s.
She rose to fame in Carry On films. Her first was Carry On Spying in 1964, is probably best known for a certain scene in Carry On Camping, when her bra flies off during an exercise class. Her favourite Carry On, however, was Carry on Henry VIII. She became great friends with Kenneth Williams, even though he said he was intimidated by her at first, and also had a well publicised affair with another Carry On star, Sid James.
She had affairs with a number of other famous people, including Reggie Cray and his older brother Charlie; Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees; actor Victor Mature; singer Anthony Newley; jazz musician Ronnie Scott, and footballer George Best. She was married three times. Her first marriage was to a member of the Kray Twins gang, Ronnie Knight, who fled to Spain after bank robbery charges were filed against him. Her second husband was Stephen Hollings, a chef, 19 years younger than her; and her third was Scott Mitchell, also much younger than she was. She stayed married to him until she died.
When EastEnders began in 1985, Barbara wanted to be in it from the start, but the creators declined on the grounds that she was too famous, and it wasn’t a comedy show. Almost a decade later, however, when the production team had changed, she was invited to play Peggy Mitchell, and was a great success. She was one of eight actors from that show to win the Lifetime Achievement Award at the British Soap Awards, and was the shortest serving one to do so. Her least favourite storyline was the one where Peggy Mitchell launched a hate campaign against Mark Fowler because he was HIV positive.
She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2014. She chose not to announce it to the public although in 2018, her husband Scott revealed it. She died on 10 December 2020, aged 83.
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