All of Me - Barbara Windsor

In a world where 'celebrity' biogs are literally ten a penny it's nice to read a boiogaphy by a veteran who really has lived, seen good and bad times and doesn't scrimp on the truth. This biog by Barbara Windsor is entertaining and unvarnished. She begins with her parent's troubled marriage and her escape into entertaining as an escape from a frosty homelife and the drabness of post War Britain. To us, she's the Carry On crumpet or the Queen Vic terrier like landlady but this belies a long career on the stage. Barbara Windsor doing Shakespere? I kid you not, she did. The ups and downs of any life are here and then some. A shady husband, ...  Read the complete review

A big fan of both celebrity autobiographies and Barbara Windsor, I suspected that this book would be right up my street and I wasn't disappointed. Windsor really doesn't hold back for her audience and goes into depth on everything from her humble working-class beginnings to her first acting job on stage and the progression of her career all the way through to her infamous role as Peggy Mitchell in EastEnders. Barbara Windsor has certainly lived a fascinating life and she is more than happy to divulge the secrets on her most famous of relationships - her marriage to Ronnie Knight and her affair with Sid James (probably the one we all wanted to know about) - as ...  Read the complete review

All Of Me by Barbara Windsor is an excellent autobiography. Subtitled 'My Extraordinary Life', she isn't kidding! This book has it all, as indeed has her life - a much-publicised affair with Carry On co-star, Sid James; an ill-fated marriage to big-time crook, Ronnie Knight; then more recently, a penchant for men young enough to be her sons. Fascinating stuff. Now, I have no illusions about Ms. Windsor herself – I admire her acting talent, loved her in the Carry Ons and think she’s perfect in EastEnders, but I once met her. I was about eight at the time and asked her politely for an autograph. I can’t repeat what she told me to do, ...  Read the complete review