McFadden supports Windsor's quit decision

EastEnders star Steve McFadden has backed Barbara Windsor's decision to quit the show after 15 years.

The actor, who plays the soap legend's screen son Phil Mitchell, argued that his colleague deserves time to spend with her family after working hard on the programme for over a decade.

McFadden told The Mirror: "I didn't try and talk her out of it because she has got so much zip in her and she needs to use that zip on herself, rather than keep working so hard she ends up collapsing."

Windsor announced on Wednesday that she is to leave her role as Mitchell matriarch Peggy next year. Her agent has insisted that she does not intend to quit showbiz altogether.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson recently described news of Windsor's exit as "tragic". He had filmed a cameo scene with the 72-year-old earlier this year.