Danniella Westbrook revealed that she was ‘upset’ to not be a part of Peggy Mitchell (Barbara Windsor)’s final scenes in EastEnders, when rumours sparked about the actress being axed from the soap.
Danniella’s on screen character Sam Mitchell will be returning to Albert Square for her mum’s funeral, but told Good Morning Britain: “I upset at the time because I expected to work alongside Barbara and Ross [Kemp], and we don’t actually do anything together at any one time.”
And Barbara – who has played Peggy for over twenty years – was asked what she thought about Danniella’s disappointment.
Barbara simply replied: “There was never any mention of Peggy and Sam crossing paths.”
Speaking to Huffington Post, Barbara then cleverly sidestepped the question, saying: “I only worked with Steve [McFadden] and Ross which, as always, was a pleasure and privilege. To work with Steve is always incredible as he is such a fine actor and comes totally prepared.
The 78 year old, who was made a Dame this year, then went on to speak about how happy she was to be filming scenes with her on screen sons Phil and Grant once again.
“I never thought, to be honest, that the three of us would ever do a scene together again, so when Ross agreed to return it was pure magic,” she explained.
“I don’t believe there is a stronger sight in soap history than the Mitchell brothers either side of Peggy. We are also close friends off set and I never see a day when we are not. There was never any mention of Peggy and Sam crossing paths.”
The BBC also announced today that the actress will have a 90 minute film next year based on her life story.
The one-off TV special will be called Babs, written by former EastEnders lead writer Tony Jordan, who Barbara claims is “the only person I felt knew me well enough to tell my story”.
The story will be set in the 1990s, showing Barbara preparing to perform in the theatre, and will look back at the people and events which shaped her career.
Speaking about the TV film, Barbara said: "Tony certainly has captured the moments of my life that have made me who I am today. I am honoured and excited that Tony and the BBC have commissioned this."
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