As she approaches her 80th birthday (6th August), this Sunday night BBC One are celebrating the life and work of Dame Barbara Windsor with a 90-minute drama written by Tony Jordan.
Across the ninety minutes, four actresses will play the part of Barbara Windsor. As a child she’ll be played by Florence Keen, as a teen she’ll be played by Honor Kneafsey and then Jaime Winstone will play Barbara throughout her twenties with Samantha Spiro playing her from the age of 30 onwards.
Her first husband Ronnie Knight is played by Luke Allen-Gale and Charlie Archer takes on the role of her current husband, a real-life Mitchell, Scott Mitchell.
Other key cast members include Zoe Wanamaker as theatre director Joan Littlewood, Robin Sebastian as Kenneth Williams and Rob Compton as Ronnie and Reggie Kray.
Here’s a first look at the 90-minute drama...
The drama will see Barbara contemplate her lonely childhood and WWII evacuation, her decision to go from Barbara Ann Deeks to Barbara Windsor, her complicated relationship with her father, her doomed marriage to Ronnie Knight, capturing the attention of Joan Littlewood and becoming the blonde bombshell in the Carry On films.
Babs, ever the consummate professional, never lets her fans down whatever her personal anguish and steps on the stage to rapturous applause.
And with Dame Barbara Windsor herself making a cameo, here are some wonderful photos of her together with Jamie Winstone and Samantha Spiro...
And finally, to whet your appetite even more, here’s a clip from Babs ...