EastEnders legend teases tributes to late Barbara Windsor as the Mitchell siblings all reunite on-screen

Ross Kemp has revealed that his forthcoming EastEnders stint will feature tributes to the late Barbara Windsor and her character Peggy Mitchell.

Windsor took over the role from original actress Jo Warne in 1994, and continued in a regular capacity until 2010. After a number of guest appearances, she returned for the final time in 2016 for Peggy's final storyline.

The star had requested then-executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins create a plot that would see her bow out as the Mitchell matriarch following her own diagnosis with Alzheimer's disease, something she revealed publicly two years later.

She passed away aged 83 in December 2020, with the BBC soap dedicating an episode to her.

While Kemp's comeback is flooded with sadness, as Grant Mitchell says goodbye to old school friend Nigel Bates (Paul Bradley), he has teased that one particular scene is "farce" in comparison to the severity of the events happening around him.

During an interview following a photoshoot for this week's Radio Times magazine cover, Kemp revealed: "There's one scene, which is farce, it's them cooking a dinner together and burning it in the way that apparently Peggy burned everything.

"So, you know, and there's little tributes to Barbara all the way through it of course."

Reflecting on how much those nods would mean to viewers, he continued: "I think what means a lot also to us as a cast.

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"Being back with Phil, Sam and Grant - it was good stuff. It was fun stuff."

His return marks the first time that the trio of siblings have been reunited in a decade. Kemp also hasn't worked with Sam actress Kim Medcalf in 20 years, as the last time the characters interacted, the role was fulfilled by Danniella Westbrook.

"What was really good about it was that life accelerates the older you get, but it didn't feel like we'd ever stopped," Kemp continued, "it feels very much like a real family".

"I mean, Steve and I have got a very good unspoken understanding of when to look at each other. I know exactly when he's about to finish his line. I think he knows that I'm about to finish mine.

"And Kim just sort of slipped into that seamlessly. So it felt like a real family."

Kemp also said that the storyline itself was a motivator in him agreeing to come back. Bradley's Nigel has been living with young-onset dementia, something which Kemp has a personal connection with.

"I have to say Paul has done just an amazing job," he added.

"And Alzheimer's was part of Barbara's passing, part of my dad's passing. So that was the main motivator for me to go back.

"Obviously, it's great to go back in the show. It's nice to get paid. But the main motivator for me was to actually go back to work with some really good friends.

"And in fact, with Paul and Steve. When Steve gets a day off, if he ever gets a day off, we're all meeting up, and we're going for a trip down the river together, and then we're going out for a meal."

Read more about Kemp's return in the latest issue of Radio Times now – subscribe here.

Read more:

• 5 EastEnders spoilers next week: Nigel Bates's tragic story ends as Grant Mitchell returns
• EastEnders first-look pictures reveal Grant's return – and Mitchell family reunion after 10 years
• EastEnders reveals Vicki and Zack's blackmailer in early BBC iPlayer release - and it's not who you'd expect

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