Sex secrets of The Krays and the day they threatened to kill Barbara Windsor
Mike Ridley
Updated: May 7 2021, 20:03 ET
Mike Ridley
AS tough landlady Peggy Mitchell in EastEnders, Barbara Windsor was the queen of Albert Square.
But the first time she filmed in the real East End, the Kray twins threatened to KILL the movie’s cast and crew.
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Barbara Windsor with Ronnie Knight and Reggie Kray - who, along with twin Ronnie, had previously threatened to kill her and the cast of a movie she was makingCredit: Hulton Picture Company
New documentary Secrets Of The Krays reveals how notorious London gangsters Ronnie and Reggie were upset that the hit Sixties movie was taking over their manor.
Barbara Windsor with Lionel Bart during rehearsals for Twang! in 1965!
Credit: Getty
The career of Barbara Windsor, who has died aged 83, likely brings to mind one of two popular images: her bikini top flying off in Carry on Camping; or throwing people out of her pub as EastEnders’ Peggy Mitchell, the embodiment of her transition to national treasure – from dollybird to matriarch.
But Barbara Windsor was more than the famous bust. She was an accomplished star of stage and screen before she became Carry On’s favourite brassy, bubbly sexpot. “She was eaten whole and swallowed by the Carry On machine,” said Tony Jordan, the EastEnders head writer who also wrote the 2017 TV biopic Babs. Not sure she’s ever said that out loud, but you could argue that, if anything, it spoilt her. Barbara Windsor should not be defined by the Carry On films.”
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National treasure Dame Barbara Windsor died on Thursday night, aged 83. This was long-expected, but it is still a shock she was indestructible showbiz royalty. As Joan Collins rightly says: Showbusiness has lost a legend.
Her final years were clouded by Alzheimer s disease, which first became apparent in 2014 when she could no longer learn her lines and she d always been what is called in the profession a quick study .
Through sheer persistence, Babs managed to keep playing Peggy Mitchell in EastEnders for a further two years. Once she could no longer perform, she channelled her energy into the Alzheimer s Society. In an open letter to the Government, she wrote: My heart goes out to the many, many people who are really struggling to get the care they so desperately need.
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