Barbara Windsor in her own words – Big boobs, the joys of sex and no regrets

From flirty quips to famous catchphrases, Barbara Windsor was never short of a few words to make the world smile.

After nearly seven decades in TV and film, she certainly had a lot to say about her journey, her jobs and the people she loved.

And, the soap stalwart will, of course, be eternally remembered for her EastEnder’s catchphrase “get outta my pub!” during her time running the Queen Vic as Peggy Mitchell.

We look back at the actress’ life, in her own words…

“They say an actor is only as good as his parts. Well, my parts have done me pretty well darling.”

“I went to convent school and was taken with all the beautiful looking nuns in flowing habits. I would swan around the kitchen with a tea towel round my head declaring that I wanted to be a nun. That fad soon passed, though.”

“I am not like my image, I take my work so seriously. Everyone thinks I just bounce in but I study and everything has to be just right. I check all my props, everything. Acting is something I love.”

“I was 16 but playing a child in Love From Judy when the wardrobe mistress came into the dressing room barking, ‘Barbara Windsor, they’re too big now’. She was behaving as if I had grown breasts to spite her! A few years later, I began to feel embarrassed by my big breasts. Once, when one cheeky bloke on a building site yelled:, ‘Have you seen your feet lately?’ I actually looked down at them!” -On realising she had big boobs

“After I’d discovered the joys of sex, I became a right little goer. There were men round me like bees round a honeypot, and I took advantage of that and went bananas. And because I was still so naïve, I never bothered with any contraception.”

“I was so terrified… You weren’t allowed to show your boobs.” -When hearing she’d be topless in Carry On Camping.

“There were thousands of people lining the Mile End Road, cheering and waving flags. Evidently Ronnie and Reggie (Kray) had turned them all out of their houses, saying: ‘Let’s welcome out little lady. Let’s show royalty how we are.’” – On the 1963 premiere of the film Sparrows Can’t Sing which earned her a Bafta nomination.

“We were at dinner while working on the show Carry on London, when Sid James whispered:, ‘[Do you know something, Barbara, they’re not as big as they look on screen – your bosoms’. ‘It’s called acting, darling,’ I replied.”

“I’ve been incredibly lucky. I’ve worked in two iconic shows, Carry On and EastEnders. If it all ended tomorrow – and it could – I’d just be terribly grateful. I’ve been fortunate enough to do what I love and get paid for it.”

“I don’t have any regrets about not having kids. I’ve just never had those maternal feelings. I am a nurturer by nature, but I nurture adults: my friends, the people I work with. I don’t want to nurture children.”

“Can I have a kiss?” The soap star popped the question to Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, when they met up last year to discuss dementia care.

“I am aware that I look good for my age. It’s my genes. My dad looked incredibly young, so did my mother. And a younger husband helps. Scott is only 45. if he hadn’t come along, I don’t know what I’d have done.”

“The beautiful thing is that ageism just doesn’t exist on EastEnders. The show saved me.”

“Acting is something I love. I have done it since I was 13 but it had completely taken over my life.”

“I found myself in the doldrums in the early Nineties. I was too old to play the dolly bird any longer and I looked too young to play a woman of my real age. No one ever saw me as the aunt, mother or grandmother.”

“I have had the most wonderful time on EastEnders and I will miss you all. The show has changed my life and I want you all to continue the good work, because I’ll be at home watching you.” – As she left EastEnders in 2016.

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