Dame Barbara Windsor is battling with Alzheimer’s disease, her husband revealed yesterday.
The 80-year-old has been taking medication to manage the illness, but her memory loss symptoms have worsened it was reported by the Sun last night.
‘Firstly, I hope speaking out will help other families dealing with loved ones who have this cruel disease’, the Carry On legend’s husband Scott Mitchell, 55, told The Sun.
‘Secondly, I want the public to know because they are naturally very drawn to Barbara and she loves talking to them.
‘So rather than me living in fear she might get confused or upset, they’ll know that if her behaviour seems strange, it’s due to Alzheimer’s and accept it for what it is.’ In a heart-breaking interview, Mr Mitchell described how his wife – who is famed for her loveable laugh – began to cry in the neurologist’s office when they were told she had the degenerative brain disease in April 2014.
Dame Barbara Windsor has Alzheimer’s disease, her husband has revealed. Pictured, the actress last month
He added: ‘When the doctor told us, she began crying then held it back, stretched her hand out to me and mouthed, ‘I’m so sorry…
‘I squeezed her hand back and said, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll be OK’.
‘I can’t protect her any longer. I’m doing this interview – and I would like to make clear that I’m not being paid for it and it’s the only one I’ll be doing – because I know that rumours are circulating in showbusiness circles.
‘And, since her 80th birthday last August, a definite continual confusion has set in, so it’s becoming a lot more difficult for us to hide.
Barbara’s husband Scott Mitchell revealed how his wife began to cry in the neurologist’s office when they were given the bad news in April 2014
The actress has been taking medication to manage the degenerative disease, but her symptoms have grown worse in recent weeks. Pictured left, on Eastenders and right, in Carry On Camping
‘I don’t want it to come across that she’s sitting there unable to communicate, because she’s not.
‘We’re still going out for walks or dinner with friends and we still laugh together a lot. She loves going out and it’s good for her – she comes alive. And of course, the public are naturally very drawn to her, which I don’t want to stop.
‘But as soon as we leave the house, I live in constant terror that she’s going to say something, or suddenly have a panic attack, or get photographed when she’s not looking right.
Barbara’s Eastenders character Peggy Mitchell was killed off in 2016
‘I didn’t want someone else to dictate how or when the diagnosis came out, so that’s why I’m speaking about it now.
‘I’m doing this because I want us to be able to go out and, if something isn’t quite right, it will be OK because people will now know that she has Alzheimer’s and will accept it for what it is.’ Mr Mitchell, a former actor who now manages other EastEnders stars, decided only to tell their trusted friends after Barbara was diagnosed because they had started to notice signs of memory loss.
He said Dame Barbara, his wife of 18 years who is also known as ‘Bar’, had struggled to accept the diagnosis.
‘We walked out of the neurologist’s office and it was almost as if she chose to forget what we had just been told.
‘That’s Bar 100 per cent. And I understood because who would want to take that in? Sometimes, denial is easier, isn’t it?
‘It was important to her to keep going through life without people looking at her in any different way. And I respected her wishes on that.
‘For it to have come out any earlier would have been detrimental to her wellbeing and her health.’ There are more than 850,000 dementia sufferers in the country, with Alzheimer’s disease the most common form.
Symptoms of the disease often include difficulties with thinking and memory loss.
Mr Mitchell said he first realised there was something not quite right in 2009 when his wife first left EastEnders.
He said: ‘Barbara had always prided herself on her memory and would say if anyone wanted to know anything, they’d phone her. But she started to find it difficult to learn her lines.
‘She also had a couple of freezes when working, which was unusual for her. But we didn’t think anything of it.’ He said by 2012 she began to repeat stories and sentences and was told she should visit Dr Kennedy.
Then by 2016 her repetitiveness became even more common and she became confused during conversations.
Barbara was born in Shoreditch to a fruit and veg cart seller and a dressmaker.
The Dame has enjoyed a decorated career on stage and on the screen.
The TV icon – who became a Dame in 2016 – made her first film debut at the age of 17 in The Belles Of St Trinian’s (1954).
She received a BAFTA Award nomination for Sparrows Can’t Sing (1963), and a Tony award nomination for the Broadway production of Oh, What A Lovely War! (1964).
She then became known for her comedic talents when she starred as the ‘good time girl’ in the Carry On series between 1964 and 1974. She was cast in EastEnders as Peggy Mitchell in 1994, for which she received the Best Actress Soap Award at the 1999 BSAs and a Lifetime Achievement at the 2009 BSAs.
In 2016, Barbara won the Outstanding Contribution Award at the TV Choice Awards, and Best Exit at the Inside Soap Awards, for her portrayal of Peggy’s death.