Dame Barbara Windsor has revealed she had a “good cry” after watching her life story played out in a new film.
The actress’s rise to fame is recounted in upcoming BBC1 drama Babs and is told through flashbacks, starring Jaime Winstone as the younger Dame Barbara and Samantha Spiro as the star in her 50s.
She rejected early offers to watch versions of the show as she wanted to see the “finished version with all the music and credits in place”.
The former EastEnders star first saw the programme in a screening room with her husband Scott and the drama’s writer Tony Jordan.
She said: “It was a very emotional experience for me and I could hear Scott crying at times sitting next to me as well as laughing out loud at other parts.
“I managed to get through it without completely breaking down but at the end I stood up and walked out of the room and had a good cry.
“It was a lot to take in and relive.”
Broadcasting this Sunday, Babs delves into the darker corners of her personal life, including her turbulent relationship with her parents and her rocky marriage to first husband Ronnie Knight.
Dame Barbara said recounting stories about her life with Jordan in his offices had been akin to therapy.
“I would sit on a sofa and he and I would chat about specific moments he had read about in my life.
“I guess looking back on it now, it was like going to therapy sessions.”
Asked if she had offered any advice to Jaime or Samantha, Dame Barbara said: “As far as advice was concerned I just had chats with the ladies playing me and only if they asked me about anything
“My only note to everyone about myself was to pronounce T’s and H’s in words. I did not want Foughts and Finks and Firty Frees. It is ‘thoughts’ and ‘thinks’ and ‘thirty three’ – even for us Cockneys.”
Babs will air on BBC One at 8pm on May 7.
