Dame Barbara Windsor fans recall sweet moments they met

Dame Barbara Windsor (L) and Jim Dale recreate a famous scene from their 1969 film "Carry On Again Doctor" backstage following the press night performance of "Just Jim Dale" at Vaudeville Theatre on May 28, 2015 in London, England

(Image credit: David M. Benett / Contributor / Getty)

By Selina Maycock published 11 December 20

Dame Barbara Windsor fans have shared their sweet, funny and memorable moments they met the iconic actress following news of her death.

The 83-year-old star passed away "peacefully" last night (Thursday, 10th December) in the care home she was staying, with her husband Scott Mitchell by her bedside, following a six year battle with dementia.

Before making a household name for herself in BBC One soap EastEnders, Dame Barbara's cheeky persona came across in Carry On films, in which she starred opposite Sid James.

And both on and off screen, it seems Barbara's infectious personality captured the heart of her co-stars and fans alike.

One man shared his memory of meeting Babs, he said, “A really kind and sweet lady, I met her at a book-signing in Barking, when she gave me a kiss she looked at my wife and said ‘you should keep an eye on him, he could come home with me’.”

And her fun sense of humour doesn't stop there. One fan tweeted, "Met Barbara Windsor very briefly as an 8yr old when she was the VIP opening the giant new Key Markets supermarket in Spalding - the first store ever to have barcode scanners. She walked past as we were checking out and made a suggestive comment about the baguette I was holding...”

Meanwhile other fans recalled the sweet moments Barbara ensured she gave them her time as they waited patiently for an autograph or a photo with her.

One fan wrote, "My niece saw her out once and wanted to say hello, but she had quickly been swamped by others that spotted her, so my niece didn't want to add to the numbers, but Barbara had seen her and beckoned her over anyway.”

Another fan recalled the moment he worked with Barbara's husband Scott, he explained, “She made a point to learn everybody’s names and at least one fact about each of us, so that when we talked with her she made us all feel special."

#BarbaraWindsor Matron, take them away!Bye, bye Babs, love. Thanks for the laughs. pic.twitter.com/Ju8lfqihYlDecember 11, 2020

And another revealed Barbara wasn't shy when it came to posing for a pic. He captioned the snap with an account of what happened. It read, "Met Barbara Windsor when I was 16 (waiting for Joe Jonas at ITV) & she was just as gorgeously fabulous as you’d expect. “ALLO my darlings” she beamed at us excited teenage girls screaming “pEgGyY!”... When I asked her to smile for a pic she did this she was a class act."

Met Barbara Windsor when I was 16 (waiting for Joe Jonas at ITV) & she was just as gorgeously fabulous as you’d expect. “ALLO my darlings” she beamed at us excited teenage girls screaming “pEgGyY!”... When I asked her to smile for a pic she did this🥺 she was a class act. pic.twitter.com/ofz272M0ZVDecember 11, 2020

Heartbroken, Scott led the tributes to the star, who was diagnosed with Alzheimers in 2014 before going public with her illness in 2018 to help raise awareness of Alzheimers to help other families who have loved-ones battling the disease.

Scott called her his “precious Bar” and added, “I’ve lost my wife, my best friend and soul mate.”

Selina Maycock

Selina is a Senior Entertainment Writer with more than 14 years of experience in newspapers and magazines. She currently looks after all things Entertainment for GoodtoKnow, Woman&Home and My Imperfect Life.

Before joining Future Publishing, Selina graduated from the University of Sheffield in 2006 with a degree in Journalism. She is fully NCTJ and NCE qualified and has 100wpm shorthand. Having spent the start of her career working on local newspapers and online, Selina spent six years as Acting News Editor and Entertainment Reporter at the Scunthorpe Telegraph where she dug into hard news stories, conducted interviews, covered court reporting, features, and entertainment, whilst going to gigs in her spare time.

Whilst at the paper she was awarded an O2 Media Judges' Special Award for helping a terminally ill cancer sufferer realise his dying wish and marry his childhood sweetheart through a successful newspaper campaign. Things like this are close to her heart when it comes to using journalism to make a positive difference in people's lives.

Selina later branched further into all things celebrity to became a Showbiz Writer at Heat magazine, covering red carpet events, showbiz parties, and various launches before going freelance for two years. One of her biggest celebrity achievements - aside from generating celebrity exclusives - was interviewing Take That (including Robbie Williams) and bumping into Simon Cowell so much at events she told him 'I'm calling you my showbiz dad!'

In 2017 she joined TI Media as a senior reporter on Woman, Woman's Own, Woman&Home, Woman's Weekly celebrity desk before branching online in 2020 when Future gave her the opportunity to focus on digital-first.

When she's not interviewing celebrities you can find her exploring new countryside walking routes, catching up with friends over good food, or making memories.