Dame Barbara Windsor Dies: ‘EastEnders’ And ‘Carry On’ Actress Was 83

Dame Barbara Windsor, best known for her roles in EastEnders and the Carry On films, died Thursday at age 83 in a London care home. Her husband, Scott Mitchell, confirmed the death and said she died from complications from Alzheimer’s.

Mitchell said his wife would be remembered for the “love, fun, friendship and brightness she brought to all our lives.”

Dame Barbara appeared in nine of the 31 films in the comedy series Carry On, and Sparrows Can’t Sing, for which she was nominated for a BAFTA.

She also had small parts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and On the Fiddle, the latter with Sir Sean Connery.

But her biggest role may have been her portrayal of landlady Peggy Mitchell in EastEnders, where she starred alongside Ross Kemp and Steve McFadden. Her last appearance in the soap came in 2016, the same year she was made a dame for her services to charity and entertainment.

In the latter stages of her life, she became a prominent voice calling for more and better Alzheimer’s patient care. She was diagnosed with the disease in 2014 and went public with the news in 2018.