Dame Barbara, a British household name for decades, passed away at a London care home at 8:35pm on Thursday. She had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2014.

Tributes quickly poured in from fans and colleagues as they lamented the loss of a “national treasure”.

Her husband, Scott Mitchell, said his wife’s final weeks were typical of how she lived her life, being “full of humour, drama and a fighting spirit until the end”.

Mr Mitchell, who campaigned alongside his wife to raise understanding of Alzheimer’s disease and funding for research into the illness, said that he had spent the last seven days by her side.

“Myself, her family and friends will remember Barbara with love, a smile and affection for the many years of her love, fun, friendship and brightness she brought to all our lives and the entertainment she gave to so many thousands of others during her career,” Mr Mitchell said.

“It was not the ending that Barbara or anyone else living with this very cruel disease deserve,” he added. 

“I will always be immensely proud of Barbara’s courage, dignity and generosity dealing with her own illness and still trying to help others by raising awareness for as long as she could.”

In summer 2019, the couple were named ambassadors for the Alzeimer’s Society charity and both had urged the government to improve care for sufferers within the UK.

“Dementia/Alzheimer’s remains the UKs number one killer,” Mr Mitchell said. “Although in challenging times, I urge the prime minister, his government and other parties to be true to their previous promises and invest more into dementia/Alzheimer’s research and care.”

He thanked “all the doctors, nurses and carers who are angels at the care home”, who he described as “my heroes”, and thanked their family, friends and the public for their support during her illness, which he said Dame Barbara “deeply appreciated”.

At the end of his tribute, Mr Mitchell said: “May you rest in peace now my precious Bar. I’ve lost my wife, my best friend and soul mate and my heart or life will never feel the same without you.”

One of Britain’s most beloved entertainment stars, she first found fame in her role in the bawdy-humoured Carry On films and later became a household name playing Peggy Mitchell, the Queen Vic’s embattled matriarchal landlady in BBC soap EastEnders.

Dame Barbara made her debut as Peggy in 1994 and soon became one of the small screen’s best-loved characters as she yelled at rogue drinkers to “get outta my pub!”.

It became the defining role of her career and saw her star alongside Ross Kemp and Steve McFadden as her fictional sons Grant and Phil, with the late Mike Reid as her on-screen husband Frank Butcher.

The character left our screens in 2003 when Dame Barbara took a sabbatical for medical reasons after being diagnosed with the Epstein-Barr virus, but she returned as a series regular in 2005.

In 2009, Dame Barbara announced she would be leaving the soap again in order to spend more time with her husband Scott, who she married in 2000.

She returned for cameo appearances in the soap over the next few years but in 2016 she played Peggy for the final time.

As news of Dame Barbara’s passing broke, a representative for Steve McFadden – who plays her on-screen son Phil Mitchell, said he was “devastated” by her death.

Veteran DJ Tony Blackburn tweeted: “So sorry to hear Barbara Windsor has passed away, a lovely lady who was always such fun. RIP Babs.”

And presenter Jonathan Ross said: “Barbara Windsor in real life was everything you might have hoped for. So warm, so funny, so kind.”

Dame Floella Benjamin added: “She brought much joy to the nation and was a true national treasure in every sense of the word.”

Danniella Westbrook, who played Dame Barbara’s on-screen daughter Sam Mitchell tweeted: “MY HEART IS BROKEN .Bar you will always be in my heart forever. Good bye, I LOVE YOU XXX RIP Barbara WINDSOR.”

Additional reporting by PA