Carry On Dame! Barbara Windsor set to be recognised for charity work

Barbara Windsor will be made a Dame in the New Year's Honours list, it has been reported.

The EastEnders and Carry On! star was made an MBE in 2000 and will be rewarded with the higher honour this year for her charity work, according to The Sun.

The 78-year-old is an ambassador for Age UK and backs other charities supporting the elderly, as well launching the British Legion's Poppy Appeal in October.

A Buckingham Palace source is quoted in the newspaper as saying: "The Queen was delighted when Barbara's name was put forward. Like Her Majesty, she is someone who has been part of the fabric of the way of life in Britain for many years."

Windsor made her film debut in The Belles Of St Trinian's in 1954 at the age of 17 and rose to fame in the Carry On! franchise.

The bubbly blonde starred in nine of the bawdy films before cementing her herself as a national treasure with her role as Mitchell family matriarch and Queen Vic landlady Peggy from 1994 to 2010 and in several one-off episodes.

She proved she is still a good sport by donning a Chewbacca costume last month to join Lewis Hamilton, Martin Freeman, Warwick Davis and Lord Sugar in a Star Wars themed sketch for BBC Children In Need.