Barbara Windsor

The New Elizabethans

The New Elizabethans: Barbara Windsor. To mark the Diamond Jubilee, James Naughtie examines the lives and impact of the men and women who have given the second Elizabethan age its character.

As a star of the BBC's long-running soap Eastenders as well as of the popular "Carry On..." film series, "Babs" can rightly claim to have a career which spans much of the reign of the current Queen. That's why she's the only actress to take her place in the list of New Elizabethans. Jim Naughtie examines her life, her career and the very British combination of grit and sauciness at its heart.

The New Elizabethans have been chosen by a panel of leading historians, chaired by Lord (Tony) Hall, Chief Executive of London's Royal Opera House. The panellists were Dominic Sandbrook, Bamber Gascoigne, Sally Alexander, Jonathan Agar, Maria Misra and Sir Max Hastings.

They were asked to choose: "Men and women whose actions during the reign of Elizabeth II have had a significant impact on lives in these islands and/or given the age its character, for better or worse."

Producer: James Cook.