EastEnders' Peggy Mitchell 'ends her life by taking overdose of pills after being diagnosed with fatal cancer'
- Mitchell mother, played for 22 years by Windsor, will tragically die alone
- Peggy's farewell to Walford called 'incredibly emotional' by soap bosses
- Suicide charity Samaritan's has praised show's handling of subject
EastEnders will have fans in tears as the much loved Peggy Mitchell bows out of the soap by taking a fatal overdose to end her battle with terminal cancer.
The Mitchell mother, played for 22 years by Barbara Windsor, will tragically die alone as she takes a cocktail of pills to end the constant pain caused by the illness ripping through her body.
Peggy's last scene in Albert Square was said to be 'incredibly emotional' with executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins hailing the performance of Windsor, 78, as 'stunning'.
Peggy taking her life could prove controversial for some viewers, however it is not the first time that soaps have tackled a character leaving in such a way.
Fans of ITV's Coronation Street were distraught when character Hayley Cropper committed suicide after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Hayley, played by actress Julie Hesmondhalgh, left The Street after 15 years by chugging back a mixture of drugs alongside her husband Roy..
Fans and fellow actors poured out tributes to both the moving performance of Hesmondhalgh and the loss of the character after the farewell episode aired in 2014.
The fact Hayley was helped by her husband when she took her own life was an aspect of the farewell that Tory MP for Mid Bedfordshire Nadine Dorries took issue with.
Devastated: Fans of Coronation Street were distraught when character Hayley Cropper (pictured with husband Roy) took her own life after a battle with pancreatic cancer in 2014
She wrote: 'Not everyone has a loving Roy. For many people the NoK (next of kin) is a hospital, care home or a similar budget constrained autonomous body #scary.'
EastEnders bosses said they spent a lot of time discussing suicide and the issues with Peggy's final farewell before they decided to go ahead with the plot line.
In particular the show liaised with the charity, Samaritans.
A show spokeswoman said: 'EastEnders has a rich history of tackling difficult social issues and Peggy's story is one of these.
'We have worked closely with leading medical experts and various charities, including the Samaritans, to ensure that this storyline is portrayed as sensitively and responsibly as possible.
'At no point do we glamourise or romanticise the issue of suicide, in fact we have taken great care to show the audience not only Peggy's perspective but the many different views of those around her.'
Samaritans praised the soap for working alongside it to ensure viewers weren't exposed to unnecessary risk.
A source close to the popular BBC soap, told the Sun that its writers thought that this end most characterised the stubborn fighting spirit of Peggy.
They said: 'She's Peggy Mitchell, she'd never just sit and wait to die. It feels right she should wrestle back control and die on her own terms. At the end, the drugs make her hallucinate.
'Her final scene is incredibly emotional.'
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