Babs

Barbara Windsor may had a complex relationship with her father but I am sure it was not like it was presented in this biographical drama.

Tony Jordan, a long time writer for Eastenders wrote this biopic which unlike Miss Windsor's chest felt a bit flat.

The framing device of an older Babs (Samantha Spiro) talking to her father about various aspects of her life is not new. It just did not work for me and made the drama episodic as we jumped around various stages of her life.

We see the child Barbara starting out on the stage with the help of her mother who disappears later on. The younger Babs (Jaime Winstone) realizes she has the assets to turn men's heads. We see her having a relationship with the crooked Ronnie Knight, both had affairs, she also had abortions. Barbara tries to break into serious acting with the Joan Littlewood theatre workshop. For a time she enjoyed success in the New York stage and even attracted the attention of Warren Beatty.

The Carry On years were quickly glossed over and we see an older Barbara Windsor still trying to understand her relationship with her father. Now with a toyboy and doing stage work for a pittance, she does not know it yet, but there is a juicy role in Eastenders just round the corner which will brighten her career and fortunes.

At one point even the real Barbara Windsor turns up which confuses matter further. I think this film just needed a straightforward narrative that was bubbly as the subject in her various happier times.

This was not a bad drama in some ways but for me it was spoiled by the over use of the older Babs and her Fathers constant conversations, it all seemed a bit arty for me which detracted rather than added to the story. Not sure if it was the fault of Dominic Leclerc's direction or Tony Jordan's dire script.

The young Babs played by Honor Kneafsey was just brilliant and stole every scene she was in. Her scenes were also the most emotional.

The more up to date version played by Samantha Spiro was also realistic but Jaime Winstone as the Babs we all know from the films was totally wrong, you can't fault her acting but she looked nothing like Barbara Windsor, she was too tall and heavy set to pull off the tiny and bubbly Babs we all know so well.

Too much of her life was glossed over or not shown at all. The carry on years were only briefly touched upon, although Robin Sebastian did a good Kenneth Williams. Where was Sid James who she had a controversial affair with? With a better script and direction this could have been great but sadly it wasn't. Compared to the excellent TV drama Eric and Ernie about the late Morcambe and Wise which was directed excellently by Jonny Campbell and written by Peter Bowker and the late Victoria Wood 'Babs' paled into insignificance.

Terrific, so beautifully written, directed and acted , would be a wonderful stage play. Loved all of the actresses that played her. A true icon of our times, Barbara Windsor was such a fabulous character, ups and downs but never daunted. The Lionel Bart part where she makes her name in Fings ain't what they used t'be was superb. I highly recommend watching this production. I loved Core Blimey as well where it was all about her love affair with Sid James, he was absolutely besotted with her. And then Fantabulosa with Michael Sheen who plays the great Kenneth Williams. A great treat and I'm sure I'll watch it over and over again.

Barbara Windsor is a wonderful lady, a national treasure even. With such an interesting life, as shown in her autobiography 'All of Me' (which is well worth a read), the film had a good story to tell. Unfortunately, the plot is not allowed to flow due to the continuous shifting back and forth between the actual interesting storyline and conversations between an older Barbara and her deceased father which are very confusing. These scenes feel like they are bridging a gap between the scenes with the younger Barbara. Samantha Spiro is the absolute double of Barbara Windsor and with your eyes half shut you would believe it was her. Honor Kneafsey as young Barbara does a good job, and Jaime Winstone does a good job too, despite unfortunately looking nothing like a young Miss Windsor. Most other characters are convincingly played by the actors. I think that the story of Barbara's life would much better suit a tv series, or a tv miniseries as so much interesting things have happened to Barbara such as the Carry On films, EastEnders and being the wife of a gangster, but having to cram everything into an hour long film of course misses a lot out. I'm 100% sure this would work out as a series full of cliffhangers, suspense, sex and engaging characters. It does feel though that the film does go along the fashion of 'show a bit of younger Barbara then shift back to older Barbara but then go back to younger Barbara but five years later'. The Carry On films are only briefly touched upon and Sid James' name is never mentioned. Kenneth Williams does fleetingly appear and although the actor looks nothing like Williams, the voice is perfection. Also, despite the confusing appearance of the real Barbara in the cafe talking to the younger Barbara, the real Miss Windsor makes a touching cameo at the end of the film which should not go unmentioned. Including more real life appearances of Barbara in films between scenes in this film would have made it better too. Overall: a watchable film, but it could be improved.

I am a huge fan of the wonderful Barbara Windsor, let's face it she is a national treasure, which of us hasn't loved her in a Carry on film or EastEnders etc.

The BBC do dramas so well as a rule, particularly historicals, but this one seemed a little hit and miss. Barbara has a fascinating story to tell, but the way the story was told seemed clunky, the constant flashbacks of her Dad were overdone, I think it could have been told in a far more effective way.

I enjoyed the performances for the most part, the young Honour Kneafsey did a fine job as the young Babs, but Jaime Winstone somehow felt wrong in the part, she's a fine actress one I'm normally a big fan of but the drama at this point seemed to jar. The highlight for me had to be the introduction of Samantha Spiro, she's a hugely underrated and talented actress, and did capture the sparkle and mannerisms of our beloved Babs.

Overall it was good, and certainly watchable, I just feel that for someone so special and deserved so much more.

6/10.