Jaime Winstone says Barbara Windsor sent her sign over EastEnders' Peggy role

Winstone previously played Barbara in BBC drama Babs, and worked directly with her at the time. And while contemplating the challenge of playing Barbara's most iconic character, the actress revealed that she made her decision after a series of signs.

"I have such a deep connection with her and respect for her. I did have my own sort of question to her," she told RadioTimes.com and other media.

"I did actually have a little word with Barbara up above, and I got my signs, and I just felt like it was written for me. So I felt like I got the go ahead and Scott [Mitchell, Barbara's husband] approved it and everything."

Asked further about the sign she mentioned from Barbara, Winstone replied: "It's quite private, but...it was a butterfly, actually. It was days before I was deciding, and it's an opportunity of a lifetime [but] I still had to think about it.

"It was a little blonde butterfly that kept coming in my garden and I was thinking...we don't normally get too many butterflies. So that was my sign, 'that's her'. You know when you know."

The star also spoke fondly about her time working with Barbara. "Obviously it was a real honour to be asked to step into Barbara’s shoes again. But I really felt like my journey with Barbara hadn’t really finished, and this was a real opportunity for me to book-end my journey with Barbara."

Winstone said that of course, there were things about the late icon that simply couldn't be studied. But she could still draw inspiration from her experiences with Barbara.

"When we shot Babs I got to work with her very closely, I became very great friends with her; so there were certain things in terms of that you couldn’t really study or be taught, in terms of the way she worked with people, the way she touched people’s shoulders when she’s talking to people, held your hands when she was advising you.

"So there was stuff that I could draw naturally from my personal life, and then being asked to step into Peggy Mitchell’s shoes - it’s the one character I didn’t get to do in Babs. So it really felt like book-ending my journey with her, and just such an honour."

Read more:

• EastEnders reveals first look at Mitchell family flashback
• When is the EastEnders flashback episode starring Jaime Winstone?

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