Peggy Mitchell death: Eastenders suicide was watched by 41% of UK TV viewing audience

The Queen Vic legend took her final bow from the BBC soap - making for a monumental event in the show's history

(BBC)

Eastenders witnessed a monumental event on its latest episode, so it's no wonder everyone tuned in to watch.

Nearly half of all British TV viewers tuned into the moment Peggy Mitchell (Dame Barbara Windsor) passed away on the BBC soap; attracting a peak of 8 million viewers, and a 41% share of the national audience.

Reaching an emotional peak, Peggy made the decision to overdose on pills after discovering that her cancer diagnosis had become terminal; hallucinating her old friend Pat Butcher (Pam St. Clement) for a poignant chat.

It's a shock for viewers, considering Peggy had previously promised her sons Phil (Steve McFadden) and Grant (Ross Kemp) that she wouldn't take her own life, though she was desperate to die on her own terms rather than let the cancer kill her.

It will certainly continue as a tumultuous time for the show in the coming episodes, the next seeing Phil return home and learn of his mother's death; the preview (via The Mirror) showing him knocking on the door and asking, "Mum? Mum, you awake?", before discovering she's passed on.

Dame Windsor, 78, who joined the soap in 1994, said Peggy was "something I need to shut the door on". When her departure was announced in January, the actor told the BBC Peggy was "a character close to my heart but I made the decision a while ago that I need to say goodbye to her once and for all. Otherwise, she will always be there, urging me to go back, and that is something I need to shut the door on."

The next episode of EastEnders airs on 19 May, BBC One at 7.30pm.

The Samaritans provides a free support service for those who need to talk to someone. It can be contacted through Samaritans.org or on 08457 90 90 90, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year