Albert Square’s resident bad boy, Jake Wood, has swapped the drama of Walford for paint brushes and easels as he unveils a poignant tribute to the late star Barbara Windsor. The 53-year-old actor launches a new art exhibition, entitled ‘Icon Series’, in Brighton next month, with one of its centrepieces being a stunning portrait of Dame Barbara, who played the Queen Vic’s iconic landlady, Peggy Mitchell.
The Carry On star, who passed away in 2020 at the age of 83 after a courageous battle with dementia, was a close friend of Jake’s during their years filming together on the BBC soap. Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, Jake said: “My portrait of Barbara was really about capturing her absolute joy and her light. She had this incredible energy; I just wanted the painting to feel like her, that effect she had on everyone when she walked into a room.”
He added: “Barbara was a good friend of mine, and she really took me under her wing when I first started on EastEnders. She was someone I really wanted to honour in a painting. With the Barbara canvas I was trying to get across her joy and light. Hopefully, I’ve captured that, with the flowers and colour.”
Inspired by a photo of the late star receiving her Damehood from Queen Elizabeth in 2016, Jake explained: “For me it was a lovely moment, her getting her Damehood, when she had already been diagnosed with Dementia. You can see her personality in that photo and I’ve enhanced it with the colours I’ve put around it.”
Jake also recalled the pain of watching his friend deteriorate as the cruel disease progressed. “Seeing Barbara go through dementia, and having other friends go through similar experiences, well, it really stays with you,” he said.
The exhibition carries a deeply personal charity focus, with 10% of all proceeds going to Dementia UK. Barbara’s widow, Scott Mitchell, a staunch advocate for dementia awareness, will attend the private view on May 7. Jake, who ran the 2019 London Marathon with Scott and other EastEnders pals for the Dementia Revolution, said: “Raising awareness and pushing for more research really matters – and Dementia UK does incredible work. This is so important to me, it’s a subject very close to my heart, and a charity that really deserves support. Barbara is central to this exhibition, and her husband Scott’s approval means such a lot.”
After her death, Jake – who has two children with his wife Alison – shared some touching advice Dame Barbara gave him when he was starting out. “Her advice was don't change anything about who you are or what you do or where you go. I took that to heart, and as a family we continued to live life as normal, to navigate life as normal, not take it all too seriously.”
Each of the 15 bold, multimedia pieces in the exhibition are either of people Jake has known or historical figures who have inspired him, from Basquiat to Winston Churchill, who also suffered from dementia in his later years. “They are culturally iconic people. David Attenborough has inspired generations to have a love of nature, Sinead O’Connor was a very brave trailblazer. With Nelson Mandela, I grew up in that era of apartheid, and when he was released it felt like a huge cultural moment,” Jake said.
Largely self-taught, Jake is famed for playing womaniser Max Branning in Walford, but says art has been a passion for as long as he can remember, though he started taking it more seriously during the pandemic. “At school, it was always my favourite subject. I got an A in art. In fact, they let me do a mural at my secondary school on one of the walls that stayed up for years! Working as an actor, I’ve always been surrounded by musicians, artists, actors. To me it’s all creativity,” he added.
‘Icons’ by Jake Wood runs at Indelible Fine Art, Brighton from May 7 to June 7.
