EastEnders star reveals all on return of ‘force of nature’ TV legend

One of EastEnders’ greatest unique selling points is its ability to tap into its own history, and that of its many iconic clans. Once again, we are set to take a step into the past of the Mitchell family, with Jaime Winstone taking on the pivotal role of Dame Barbara Windsor’s ‘force of nature’ TV legend Peggy Mitchell. What viewers will see is Phil, consumed by psychosis, find himself talking both to his mum and a younger version of himself as he battles with crippling depression.

And it will lead to some major discoveries and developments as the show heads to its 40th anniversary in dramatic, emotive and spectacular fashion. Here, Jaime shares her joy at reprising the role of Peggy, hails EastEnders for its dealing with mental health storylines and ponders the show’s standing 40 years on. Peggy Mitchell is so iconic – everybody refers to her still, everybody knows her, and it’s such an honour. When I knew I was going to be reprising the role, at first, you go, ‘Wow, this is really exciting’, then you read the context of the script and get into it.

We all grew up with Peggy in our front rooms, so it’s an overwhelming feeling because she’s such a strong, amazing character. To get into playing Peggy, I re-watched her most iconic moments. I had to separate me knowing Barbara Windsor in real life, playing Barbara in ‘Babs’ and taking on the role of Peggy now twice. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video.

Up Next. I think it really all hits home when it’s time for the wig. As soon as I put that wig on in the makeup chair, I always feel such warmth and confidence because I feel like Barbara’s giving me the go-ahead. The moment the wig goes on, everybody is quiet in the makeup room. It happens, and then, all of a sudden, I look at myself in the mirror, and the giggle comes out, and she’s just there, she just makes her presence known.

Barbara was such a phenomenal actress. When Peggy came along and into our front rooms, she was a tiny bundle of motherhood and a force of nature. For me, the interesting journey was understanding why Peggy was the way she was. When we did the flashback episode, there were so many pieces of the puzzle showing why Peggy was so feisty, so proud of her boys and fiercely protective – all because of the stuff she’d gone through.

She’s a real representation of a woman who had been through domestic violence and had to protect her children. It was magical to take those things and create something new with it. Peggy was one of the first female characters we saw on screen who was running the show. It’s very rare you get an opportunity to play such an iconic character with new stuff rather than doing a biopic or taking what we’ve got from the history books and playing it out so people can see what really happened.

It was new material and filling in the gaps for everybody who watches at home. It felt very exciting. There are obviously moments I’d love to re-enact – all the slaps. The iconic Peggy and Pat slap would be so epic. I think that would just be so fun because of the dialogue in it, the fierce relationship that they had, the love/hate, mutual respect thing that finally happens. But like I said, with this role it’s so great because I’ve got to reenact the missing pieces of the puzzle, and I feel very lucky and honoured.

I think the show grabs the bull by the horns in that sense. There is such a stigma around men’s mental health, particularly. I think the way the writers haven’t rushed this storyline has been incredibly important. EastEnders has been so clever doing this story with such a beloved character and an amazing actor. Steve McFadden (Phil) has just done an amazing job committing to where his journey is going, and it’s been so important and handled so carefully because it is a tough subject to talk about.

Here's what EastEnders fans can expect as the soap celebrates its 40th anniversary on 19 February 2025:. Having previously gone live for the 25th and 30th anniversaries in 2010 and 2015, the soap will be beaming live to the nation once again during the 40th week. This instalment will air one day after the big 4-0, on Thursday February 20. The episode will also mark a huge EastEnders first as bosses are giving the audience the power to vote on the outcome of one storyline, with the actors having to react to the result live on air – speaking of which….

With Denise Fox (Diane Parish) having found herself in a love triangle with Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) and Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara), fans will decide whether she reunites with her estranged husband Jack or picks her secret lover. We also know that another 'history making' decision will be left to audiences to decide, with details yet to be announced. ​​Ross Kemp will be reprising his role as the legendary Grant Mitchell to play a significant part in the 40th celebrations.