Barbara Windsor quits Eastenders

EastEnders stalwart Barbara Windsor has quit the BBC soap after eight years, saying she needs to take some time off.

But fans need not fear – she will be returning in 2004 after a year’s hiatus.

Windsor said the decision was a tough one but a choice she had to make for her own sake and that of her character, landlady Peggy Mitchell.

“This has been a very hard decision for me to make, because I’m so happy here on EastEnders, but it’s been a long time without a proper break, and I just feel some time off would be good for me, and probably the character too,” she said in a statement.

“But I’m certainly looking forward to coming back. EastEnders is where my heart is, it’s like my home, and this is where I see myself ending my career.”

The show’s executive producer, Louise Berridge, said Windsor had never taken more than a fortnight off at a time in her eight years at the show.

“Of course we will all miss her enormously, but on a show as long-running as this one, it is obviously important for the artists to take occasional breaks,” she said.

Ms Berridge said the 65-year-old actress would return in 2004 with a “big story”.