Jaime Winstone says she struggled to shake off “the wiggle and giggle” of Barbara Windsor’s Carry On days to play her a second time as EastEnder Peggy Mitchell.
The actress said she was persuaded to appear in an upcoming flashback episode of the BBC1 soap by the excellent script.
Jaime, 37, said: “It’s f***ing nerve-wracking. You’re just playing the most iconic character in British TV history! I tried to turn the nerves into excitement. As soon as I put the wig on, I could hear her saying, ‘you’ve got this’.”
Jaime, who played a young Barbara in 2017 BBC biopic Babs, added: “Those words ‘get out of my pub!’ were ringing in my head.
“I’ve played so many parts in Barbara’s life but not Peggy Mitchell and it had been niggling at me. I had to strip all the Carry On stuff away – like the wiggle, the giggle – and implement all the stuff Peggy grew from. It took a long time.
“Peggy is different, she’s tough, she’s vulnerable but nobody’s seen her at this point in her life.”
Jaime fell in love with the script, adding: “Just seeing Phil and Grant as young men, then Peggy, then Eric, who we’ve heard so much about. I love the parallels with Thatcher on TV and what’s going on now. It pulled my heartstrings.”
The Kidulthood star spent time with Barbara when playing her previously: “I’d go around her house, we’d have cups of tea, sing around the piano.”
Barbara, who died aged 83 in 2020, once complimented her, saying: “You’re more me than me.”
The flashback episode will air on September 5.
It features the struggling Mitchells in 1979, with Britain in economic turmoil as Peggy’s marriage to Eric (George Russo) crumbles. Other characters as youngsters include Mitchell cousins Ronnie and Roxie, plus dad Archie.
Meanwhile Ricky Butcher is set to spark chaos when he returns to Albert Square this autumn after a decade away.
Actor Sid Owen, 50, said: “I can’t wait to see what Ricky has been up to.”
