Media News
Windsor denies row with TV bosses
Saturday 31 October 2009
The 72-year-old actress, who plays Queen Vic landlady Peggy Mitchell, will call time on her life in Walford next year.
Windsor said she wanted to spend more time with her husband, Scott Mitchell, when she made her decision public on Wednesday.
The actress today said she was 'upset' by speculation that an argument with BBC bosses or a row over money was behind her decision to quit, sparked by a comment by her EastEnders co-star Larry Lamb that something had 'really upset' Windsor.
'I am upset at suggestions made that I have chosen to leave EastEnders because of money, changes that are being made to the show or a supposed 'bust up with producers' as there is absolutely no truth in them,' Windsor said.
'I made the tough decision to leave for purely one reason - after 15 years in the show I want to spend more time with my husband, Scott."
Windsor, who is also well known for being a regular in the Carry On films, has been involved in high-profile storylines including a breast cancer battle and a series of unsuccessful relationships with Frank Butcher (Mike Reid), Harry Slater (Michael Elphick) and Archie Mitchell (Lamb).
A spokeswoman for the BBC soap opera said: 'Barbara's decision to leave EastEnders has absolutely nothing to do with money, contracts or supposed changes at EastEnders.
'Barbara made the difficult decision as after 15 years of playing Peggy Mitchell. Barbara felt it was time to pull her last pint and spend more time with her husband, Scott.'
A source on the soap said: 'It's a shame that after the love and dedication Barbara has given EastEnders for 15 years people have to find an ulterior motive as to why she is leaving the show and they can't just accept she just wants to take a step back and have more time for herself.'
Click here for Terms of use
|
Top 10 Most Read
Must Watch TV
-
- The Works
Peter Murphy discusses the life and art of Leonard Cohen on the occasion of his new album Old Ideas. John Kelly goes behind the scenes in Dublin Castle with Martin Hayes, John Doyle and Kevin Crawford before a gig. Also John interviews writer/actor and Irish Times theatre award nominee Amy Conroy on the set of her play, I Heart Alice Heart I, at the Peacock Theatre.
-
- Mad Dogs
It's the fourth and final part of this watercoooler drama. So what can we expect from this week's conclusion? Well, the boys' hostage experience is interrupted by the unexpected extension of an olive branch. Woody, Quinn, Baxter and Rick can win back their freedom in return for completing a seemingly impossible quest and, for once, fortune is in their favour and it looks like they might succeed. (Although with a third series on its way, perhaps their actions are not without a price.)
-
- Inside Men
John, Chris and Marcus have made a decision that will change the rest of their lives and set about making their big idea a reality. The three men do their best to discuss their plan without arousing suspicion. Their first big challenge is to employ the muscle to carry off the heist. Marcus has a connection: a businessman called Kalpesh who can help them with the guns and the men they need, but he wants to see cash to prove they are serious. John has been put forward for a promotion at work. He gets a pep-talk from his boss on how to assert himself more, but instead of getting the job he uses the advice to help him take control of the group. When Marcus looks like making a mess of the deal with Kalpesh, John has to step in and close the deal.
-
- Phil Spencer: Secret Agent
Phil's latest secret assignment takes him to Watford and the four-bed detached house of John and Mirasol Lockwood. Not long after moving in, the family divided up their huge plot and started to build their dream family home right next door. Now their original home is being outshone by its newer, flashier neighbour, which is getting all their love, care and attention. After six months on the market, their new house nearing completion, and a baby on the way, the pressure is most certainly on to shift it fast. Now Phil's on the case, sorting out this lifeless, tired, forgotten house, but the family need to face up to a few home truths and muck in with Phil's plan to get their house sold and then moved next door.
-
- Bóithre Iarainn
This hugely popular series chronicling the story of Ireland's railways returns to our screens tonight with a new series. Bóithre Iarainn is a unique window into the life of ordinary Irish people in the first half of the 20th Century, from the delights of the dance trains to Bray on the Harcourt street line to the gruelling work of shovelling coal on the Cavan and Leitrim line, to the constant hum of the beet trains from Courtmacsherry in West Cork, the lifeblood of the countryside. Tonight's opening episode recalls the famous 'locked train' which travelled cross-border from Dundalk to Bundoran carrying a mixed bunch of honeymooners, smugglers and Lough Derg pilgrims.