Barbara Windsor was left speechless after filming her final scenes for ‘EastEnders’.
The 78-year-old actress – who has portrayed Peggy Mitchell in the BBC One soap for 22 years on and off – found it emotional saying goodbye to the legendary character.
She said: "When I finished filming the last scene, I couldn’t say anything. I knew that if I opened my mouth I would sob. But I couldn’t do that, because this is my choice …
"There were lots of tears from everyone. Everybody was sad. I love everyone here, I kind of got that "have I made the right decision?" feeling in my stomach. But I knew I had.
"EastEnders did me proud, I couldn’t have asked for more. They gave me great directors, great writers, and the people I love are performing with me. It’s sad but perfect. Everyone at EastEnders has worked really hard to give Peggy a fitting send-off and I’ll never forget that."
And Barbara felt it was important to have closure on her character because otherwise she felt Peggy would always be "urging me to go back".
She added: "I made the decision a while ago that I need to say goodbye to Peggy once and for all as otherwise she will always be there, urging me to go back, and that is something I needed to shut the door on.
"After thinking long and hard about it, I realised that it is time for me and the audience to say our final farewells to the lady who I have loved for many years."
Barbara was also thrilled to be working with Steve McFadden and Ross Kemp again, admitting it was "wonderful" to see the Mitchell boys back together.
She told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "It was good to see the two Mitchell boys together. It’s been wonderful.
"I think of them as very, very dear friends. I’ve been very blessed to have had both Steve and Ross as my on-screen sons as they are both great actors. I couldn’t have come back and filmed my final scenes without us all together."
Barbara Windsor left speechless after saying goodbye to EastEnders character
