Windsor to Leave EE After 15 Years


Borehamwood, England -– Barbara Windsor (Peggy Mitchell) announced she will be leaving EastEnders in 2010 after running the Queen Vic pub for most of her15 years on the show.?Barbara, 72, first appeared in EastEnders in 1994 and is now considered by many to be a British national institution.

Our favourite landlady rules the Mitchells with an iron fist and a heart of gold. Peggy has been central to numerous high-profile storylines, including a battle with breast cancer, failed marriages and romances, being reunited with her daughter, Sam, amongst other business and family crises.

Windsor was awarded an MBE in 1999 and a Lifetime Achievement Award at the British Soap Awards in May 2009.??Barbara says of her departure:

“EastEnders has been wonderful to me and it’s no secret that it changed my life all of those years ago. I’ll be so sad to leave Peggy behind – she’s such a wonderful character to play.

”I have had the pleasure of working with a marvellous cast and crew and have made many lasting good friends. To have had the honour of showing the Queen around the set is something that will stay with me forever. I would like to thank the BBC for the incredible opportunity they gave me and above all, I must thank the wonderful viewers for their support over the years.”

Outgoing Executive Producer Diederick Santer, who recently announced his impending departure, adds: “Peggy Mitchell is a truly iconic character, and along with Steve McFadden and Ross Kemp, Barbara has made the Mitchells the premier family of British soap. I so much enjoy working with her – catching up with the gossip, listening to her stories, talking about the show, benefiting from her advice, and most importantly revelling in her powerful, funny, passionate performances. All of us - and our audience - are going to miss her hugely.”

The BBC's controller of drama production, John Yorke, said: “To most of the British public Barbara IS EastEnders, and it’s almost impossible to imagine Albert Square without her. For 15 years she's given her heart and soul to EastEnders – she’s been a consummate professional, a national treasure and a joy to work alongside. We will all miss her hugely - both as a character, and as a friend.” Walford matriarch at first.??Jo Warne played Peggy in just 10 episodes of the soap in 1991 when the character’s teenage daughter Sam eloped with Ricky Butcher.?However, three years later producers re-cast Windsor at the future landlady of the Queen Vic pub and one of the soap's most iconic characters was born.?Bringing her own acting experience and comedic talents to the role, Windsor soon persuaded producers that Peggy was much classier and “ballsier” than the earlier scripts had allowed.




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