EastEnders icon Barbara Windsor to return as Peggy Mitchell for the soap's 30th anniversary
The actress says she is "thrilled" to be making a guest comeback over the birthday week in February 2015
Legendary EastEnders landlady Peggy Mitchell will be back on EastEnders during February 2015, as actress Barbara Windsor reprises the role for the BBC1 soap's 30th anniversary.
Peggy will return for one episode during EastEnders's birthday week, which show bosses promise will give a nod to the past while also welcoming the future. The three decades on air will also be marked by live elements to the episodes across the week, culminating in a live 30-minute instalment.
Speaking about her guest turn, Windsor said: "I am absolutely thrilled that Peggy has been included in the celebrations to mark the 30th anniversary of EastEnders. What an incredible achievement for all the production, cast and crew, past and present."
Executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins added: "Barbara and Peggy are intrinsically linked with EastEnders and when we planned our explosive anniversary episodes, Peggy was the first name on our list of hoped-for returns.
"Barbara has not only created one of EastEnders’s most iconic characters but she’s also hugely loved and missed by everyone here. We couldn’t celebrate 30 years of EastEnders without Barbara Windsor”.
Peggy was last seen back in September when she made a surprise cameo from her villa in Portugal, from where she sent Ronnie Mitchell (Samatha Womack) back to London to halt the nuptials of Phil (Steve McFadden) and Sharon (Letitia Dean).
Barbara Windsor’s original tenure on the soap lasted from 1994 to 2010, a period that saw the actress winning the British Soap Award for Best Actress in 1999 and being made an MBE in the 2000 New Year Honours.
Watch a 60-second rundown of next week's episodes of EastEnders below:
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