Scott Mitchell is 'haunted' by late wife Dame Barbara Windsor's Alzheimer's battle
Dame Barbara Windsor's widower Scott Mitchell will forever be "haunted" by watching the EastEnders legend suffer with Alzheimer's disease in the final years of her life.
Dame Barbara Windsor's widower Scott Mitchell is "haunted" by watching the actress succumb to Alzheimer's disease.
The EastEnders icon, who played Peggy Mitchell on the soap for over two decades, passed away aged 83 in December 2020 and Scott hated how the memory-robbing condition impacted the final years of her life.
Scott told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "I wish I never had to experience the terror in Barbara's eyes, when she didn't know where she was, who I was – who she was.
"That haunts me. No human being should have to leave this world in the way those suffering with dementia do. Nobody. That's why we have to keep talking about it.
"Having witnessed it firsthand, developing dementia myself is actually my biggest fear – I think it's most people's."
Scott, 62, has now found love again with EastEnders star Tanya Franks – who played the role of Rainie Cross in the BBC soap – but claims that he still receives "signs" from Barbara.
He recalled: "I was asked to do a talk a couple of months ago at a literary festival in Gibraltar.
"I got lost in the hotel and found myself in the Windsor Room. And the other weekend, I stayed on a housebarge by the river – the boat was called Little Babs.
"One of the other boats in the marina was called Peggy!"
Mitchell is also a regular visitor to the Carry On legend's resting place at Golders Green Crematorium in London.
He explained: "We have a nice little chat.
"Your loved ones are always with you, you know? I don't believe people die and that's the end of it. I believe our loved ones are around us."
Scott explained that lots of people still come up to him and talk about Barbara, five years on from her passing.
He said: "The legacy she's left is amazing.
"Certain people truly earn the title of national treasure – Barbara was one of them. But for me, I'll simply remember how she was, how loving she was with me. She made me laugh so much.
"She taught me a lot about getting rid of ego. I wasn't as good at that in my younger days. People laughed when we got together, but we lasted the course. It was unconditional love.
"She loved other people and their stories – she would sprinkle her fairy dust on everyone."
