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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Zara Woodcock

EastEnders cast 'stoked' after raising £50k in memory of Dame Barbara Windsor at marathon

The EastEnders cast members were "absolutely stoked" after raising £50,000 in memory of Dame Barbara Windsor at the London Marathon.

Actors including Heather Peace, Natalie Cassidy, Lacey Turner and Adam Woodyatt all ran for Alzheimer's Research in memory of their late co-star Barbara Windsor. Her husband Scott Mitchell also took part.

After the marathon, Heather - who plays Eve Unwin in the soap - said fundraising for the charity had gone "beyond our wildest expectations".

The team of runners, who are known as Babs' Army, were grateful for the public's donations.

"We’re absolutely stoked," she explained. "We’ve done a big push this last week.

The stars ran in memory of Barbara Windsor (Instagram)

"Considering the state all of us are in – the cost of living and everything else – it’s gone beyond our wildest expectations that people have felt that they’ve been so generous that they can donate."

She added to the PA News agency: "It makes it all worthwhile and it raises the awareness.

"Hopefully it’s going to keep trickling in – we’ll keep it open."

Ahead of the marathon, the cast members took to their social media to share their preparations for the day.

Adam Woodyatt and Lacey Turner were part of the running team (REX/Shutterstock)
Heather said the cast members are 'absolutely stoked' (Instagram)

Mum-of-two Natalie, 39, who plays Sonia Fowler in the soap, was up nice and early as she shared a snap of herself with DJ Chris Evans.

Dressed in her running gear with the London skyline behind her, she captioned the post: "The best person to see on marathon day @chrisevanstfi. Let's do this! We are all so lucky to be doing this today @babsarmy."

Adam and Natalie also posted a snap of themselves alongside athlete Richard Whitehead as they got ready to race.

Fellow EastEnders star Jake Wood, who played Max Branning in the soap, wasn't able to compete due to a chest infection.

Dame Barbara died in 2020 (Instagram)

However, he told the Mirror before his health concern: "We all knew Barbara and loved her. She was an amazing person. It’s an honour to be doing this in her memory."

Jake announced the news of his decision to not take part in the marathon earlier this week.

In 2014, Dame Barbara was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and it wasn't revealed to the public until four years later.

The soap icon died on 10 December 2020, aged 83.

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