Dame Barbara Windsor made June Brown apologise for swearing at 'EastEnders' writers over storylines

Dame Barbara Windsor was “the best executive producer EastEnders never had” according to an ex boss of the soap.

Former executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins told how he had seen Windsor force soap legend June Brown to say sorry to his scriptwriters after a sweary rant one day.

He told the Radio Times how Brown, one of the show’s biggest stars as Dot Cotton, had shouted at the writers out of her dressing room window: “Your storylines are s***.”

Read more: Dame Barbara Windsor - A life in pictures

Treadwell-Collins said: “Barbara grabbed her, brought her upstairs and told her to apologise.”

He added: “Barbara was the best executive producer EastEnders never had. She kept actors young and old in check.”

Windsor played Queen Vic landlady Peggy Mitchell, matriarch of Albert Square’s Mitchell family, and Treadwell-Collins shared that she also kept a close eye on members of her own screen family - as well as what went down in her pub.

He said that she had told off Ronnie and Roxy Mitchell actors Samantha Womack, 48, and Rita Simons, 43, for not wearing heels behind the Queen Vic’s bar.

She was so committed to authenticity that even though viewers would not be able to see their Ugg boots on screen, she felt that fans of the soap would be able to tell the difference and always wore heels herself.

Windsor passed away on 10 December after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease and EastEnders stars, including Brown, have paid tribute to their late friend and co-star.

She was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2014, but chose to keep her illness out of the public eye until 2018.

Her husband Scott Mitchell helped her to campaign for Alzheimer’s Research UK, as well as raising funds for the charity.

Windsor was also known for her roles in the Carry On films and eventually left EastEnders in 2016.

Watch: Scott Mitchell makes his first TV appearance since Dame Barbara Windsor’s death