Inside Barbara Windsor’s close bond with EastEnders co-star she left money to in will
EastEnders icon Barbara Windsor sadly died in 2020 after a battle with Alzheimer's after a long career as an actress - and when her will was released, it clearly showed who she considered her nearest and dearest
EastEnders’ Barbara Windsor left behind a sparkling legacy and a hefty lump sum when she died on December 10, 2020.
The beloved TV favourite, who is best known for her role as Peggy Mitchell in EastEnders and in the iconic Carry On films, battled Alzheimer’s in the years prior to her death. After making her debut on EastEnders in 1991, her character Peggy bid farewell and died in 2016.
During Peggy’s reign as the iconic landlady at The Queen Victoria Pub on Albert Square, she made a lot of friends in her co-stars, but no friendship beat that of Anna Karen, who later joined the cast.
On EastEnders Anna played Aunt Sal, the sister of Peggy Mitchell. Recent reports have stated that following Anna’s death last year, a funeral is being filmed for Aunt Sal in the new year.
But years prior to working on EastEnders, the duo became friends on Carry on Camping – and their friendship went from strength to strength. After Barbara’s death, she wanted to give her friend a gift, leaving £1,000 in her will.
Their friendship dates all the way back to 1969 after Anna joined the ’60s show, with their very first scene seeing them have a brawl. Anna once explained to The Mirror that she was terrified of fighting Babs because she was “so famous”.
She added: “We ended up screaming with laughter the whole way through. She had no airs and graces and we became solid friends.”
Barbara also said once that the pair had met in a nightclub on Bond Street when she was singing while Anna was working as a stripper at the same place.
Years later and having not worked together since Carry On, they reunited on EastEnders, with Babs showing up to Anna’s first day. At the time, Anna said it was “lovely” working with her old pal again, but odd because they’re such good friends in real life.
She explained they spoke on the phone around four times a week and would see each other very regularly. They stayed in touch and Barbara left £1,000 to Anna alongside some charities including NSPCC, Breast Care and Help The Aged.
In reports obtained by The Sun, her will revealed £4.6million of her estate went to her husband Scott Mitchell, while her sister in law received £5,000 and her cousins got £2,000 each. Barbara had worked with dementia charities to raise awareness for research prior to her death.
