EastEnders confirms Jamie Winstone will return to soap as a young Peggy Mitchell ahead of 40th anniversary

Jaime Winstone is set to reprise the role of a young Peggy Mitchell as she returns to EastEnders as part of a mental health storyline with Phil Mitchell. The actress, 39, who portrayed Dame Barbara Windsor in biopic Babs and took on the actress’ role of formidable pub landlord Peggy in a 1979-based flashback episode, is going to appear in new scenes, set in 1985.

Dame Barbra Windsor died at a care home in Stanmore, north London, on 10 December 2020 aged 83 after battling dementia. The late actress was best known for her role as the pub landlady in EastEnders but also starred in several Carry On films. She was married to Scott Mitchell (2000-2020) and reportedly left £4.6 million of her estate to her husband.

In recent months, Phil, played by Steve McFadden, has been struggling with loneliness following his former partner Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) starting a relationship with his long-lost cousin Teddy Mitchell (Roland Manookian), and the end of his marriage to Kathleen “Kat” Slater (Jessie Wallace).

EastEnders will show how the character’s depression and symptoms of psychosis intensify, with him experiencing hallucinations, including a young Peggy. The upcoming episode will show Phil as a bystander to a pivotal moment from when he was a teenager, as he also talks to his former younger self (Daniel Delaney) back in Walford’s The Square and at No 55.

George Russo, who played Eric Mitchell, and Teddy Jay (Grant Mitchell) also return to reprise their roles of the younger Mitchell clan from the flashback episode, which aired in September 2022.

Jamie Winstone said: “It was such an honour to be welcomed back to play Peggy Mitchell, she is a dream role for me; so to be able to contribute to this iconic family on this major storyline has been such a joyous and emotional journey and I truly hope I have done her justice. Thank you to all the EastEnders family, this has been such a wonderful experience.”

This year will also be the 40th anniversary of the soap and see the return of Phil’s brother Grant (Ross Kemp) after a near 10-year absence. The reason he has returned is being kept a secret, but is teased as being “explosive”.

Natalie Dixon is NationalWorld’s Lifestyle reporter. If you liked this article and want to read more about celebrities, fashion, beauty and lifestyle you can follow Natalie Dixon on X here.

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