A NATIONAL treasure features in today’s Timeout as we look back over the life of Dame Barbara Windsor and her times in Brighton.

She shot to fame in the Carry On... films, in which she played cheeky young blonde characters.

Many of the traits in these characters reflected Dame Barbara’s bubbly real life persona, as seen in our picture of her at the Royal Sussex County Hospital.

She also built a successful career in theatre before landing her most famous role – as pub landlady Peggy Mitchell in BBC soap EastEnders.

A regular in the pantomime circuit, Barbara Windsor appeared on stage in Brighton numerous times, including in the stage adaptation of Aladdin at the Theatre Royal with fellow EastEnders actor Christopher Timothy in 1983.

She also played the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella on a number of occasions, and took part in pantomimes as Dick Whittington, though this 1991 cast of Dick Whittington at Horsham Arts Centre does not include her.

Can you identify any of the five in the photo shown here?

The city also drew in another big name over the years, Sixties singer Susan Maughan.

Ms Maughan released successful singles through the decade, including her most famous, Bobby’s Girl, a cover of the popular Marcie Blane single.

She then wrote songs for film and television through the following decade, finally carving a niche for herself in pantomime work by the time the Eighties came around.

Since then, she has featured as a regular fixture in the nostalgic Sixties circuit.

Here she is pictured in the historic Birds Nest Pub on Gloucester Place in Brighton, pouring a pint in the pub.

Popular with soul enthusiasts, The Bird’s Nest was famous for its discos – do you remember them?