Jaime Winstone to play young Peggy Mitchell in special flashback episode of EastEnders

Jaime Winstone will play a young Peggy Mitchell in a flashback episode of EastEnders.

The 37-year-old actress – daughter of film veteran Ray Winstone – portrayed the pub landlady in the BBC biopic Babs in 2017, which showed Dame Barbara aged in her 20s and 30s.

Barbara, who died in December 2020 aged 83 having after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2014, played the Mitchell family matriarch in EastEnders after joining the BBC soap in 1994.

Jaime is already filming flashback scenes, which will feature the Mitchell family struggling through a late-1970s winter of discontent, and is set to be shown this autumn.

The ‘Kidulthood’ actress, who got engaged to boyfriend James Suckling after he proposed at Glastonbury festival, said: “It’s been such an honour to step into Peggy Mitchell’s shoes for the first time, and into Barbara’s shoes for the second time.

“There’s certainly a healthy amount of pressure when you’re taking on such an iconic role – I thoroughly enjoyed it.

“Playing this role has really cemented my love and admiration for Barbara as I got to bookend my journey by playing Peggy Mitchell – I hope I’ve done her justice and I’ve loved every minute of it, I can’t wait for everyone to see the episode.”

The flashback episode is set in the winter of 1979 with the Mitchells “hit hard by a Britain in economic turmoil” and Peggy struggling to keep things afloat as her marriage to Eric is showing “cracks”.

The episode will also feature characters from EastEnders never seen on screen before, including Peggy’s husband Eric (played by George Russo), Billy Mitchell's older brother Charlie (Charlie Heptinstall) and Billy and Charlie’s father Stephen (Dean Roberts.)

EastEnders’ executive producer Chris Clenshaw said: “We’re delighted to be welcoming an incredible cast of actors to set for this special flashback episode, including the luminous Jaime Winstone as a young Peggy Mitchell.

“Focussed on the Mitchell family, audiences will embark on a rollercoaster journey to the East End of London in 1979 where they’ll delve into the family’s past, seeing much-loved and iconic characters, as well as meeting characters from the show’s history that have never been seen on screen before. There are twists, turns and secrets revealed – after all, trouble is never too far away where The Mitchells are concerned!”