Barbara Windsor hopes viewers accept the "tough" way she played Peggy Mitchell’s cancer battle in ‘EastEnders’.
The 78-year-old actress has returned to the BBC One soap to film her final scenes as the cockney pub landlady – who she has depicted on and off for 22 years – and wanted to play the matriarch with dignity in the emotional storyline.
Speaking on ‘Good Morning Britain’ today (10.05.16) about her last scenes, Barbara welled up as she said: "They were hard but, sorry I’m going to get upset, I did my crying afterwards, I had to. I had to give this performance and she’s quite tough and I hope people accept the way I played her with cancer because I have to tell all the viewers that everybody’s different."
The actress loved working with Steve McFadden and Ross Kemp – who play her on-screen sons Phil and Grant Mitchell respectively – but could tell the 51-year-old star was nervous because he was also returning to his hard man alter-ego after quitting the show for good in 2006.
She said: "It was fabulous and what I loved about him [Ross Kemp] bless him, he said ‘oh I’m nervous’ and I thought, ‘Thank God’ because I was nervous … because Steve is Steve, he’s being doing it forever, he’s got it all sorted out, so the two of us were kind of [holding] hands you know."
But having her boys back together made her question why she was closing the door on Peggy on the first place.
She added: "I tell you what was great – when they stood either side of me that was it, I felt, ‘We’re back! What am I doing killing myself off? Am I mad?’ I felt good and I have to say Ross enjoyed it because it took a lot to get him back and it was a little phone call from me in the end that did it."
Barbara Windsor: I made Peggy tough throughout cancer battle
