Barbara Windsor‘s widower Scott Mitchell has admitted it was ‘horrible to witness the terror’ his late partner experienced when battling dementia.
Barbara, known for her portrayal of Peggy Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, died from Alzheimer’s Disease in 2020 at the age of 83.
Scott, 62, who became Barbara’s carer in 2014 when she fell ill with the disease and has now spoken to BBC Newsnight about her illness and the impact it had on him.
Speaking about her being ‘slowly taken away’ by the disease he also opened up about some of the most challenging behaviours he had to deal with.
He said on the show: ‘With Barbara, you know, I watched this incredibly vibrant lady, highly intelligent with the most wonderful memory.
‘Vibrant wasn’t the word for Barbara. You all saw her, you all knew who she was. And I just saw her being slowly taken away from me by this cruel, horrible disease.’
Barbara Windsor ‘s widower Scott Mitchell has admitted it was ‘horrible to witness the terror’ his late partner experienced when battling dementia
Barbara, known for her portrayal of Peggy Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders , died from Alzheimer’s Disease in 2020 at the age of 83
On the show he was also asked what tips he would give to others dealing with a loved one who is losing their memory.
Scott explained: ‘Try not to argue. I learnt the hard way. You know, it’s no good contradicting. What you do is you enter their world. You go with their journey because their reality is a lot different than yours.
‘And for their benefit, so you don’t distress them, just go with it and smile. I used to smile a lot to Barbara.
‘When she was on a repetitive loop, she’d ask me something for the 15th time and in my head I was screaming because it’s overwhelming for a carer to go through that every night, night after night.
‘But I would just try and smile and give her just a little bit, as if it was the first time that I heard it. That’s very sad. It’s a horrible thing to witness and the terror that I witnessed her go through as well.’
It comes after earlier this year Scott shared that he ‘still wakes up in panic’ worrying about the late star, like he did when she was still alive.
He told The Mirror: ‘I’ve never recovered from my sleep from when I was caring for Barbara. I’ll fall asleep at 11 but I can be waking up through the night.
‘I was so aware of when she used to get up in the night because she used to have falls in the night. So I never really used to sleep. I used to constantly be alert.’
Scott, 62, who became Barbara’s carer in 2014 when she fell ill with the disease and has now spoken to BBC Newsnight about her illness and the impact it had on him
He added: ‘There are times when I wake up and I panic because I think, is she OK? Like I used to. I have to talk to myself and say, ‘it’s OK. She’s at peace’. It’s a lot less than it used to be now.’
Scott has now found love with new partner Tanya Franks and previously spoke about their romance on Lorraine.
In the wake of the loss of his wife, Scott detailed how his ‘incredible friendship’ with Tanya, 57, became a romance.
Speaking to hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard, he said: ‘We forged an incredible friendship over the four years and something wonderful blossomed out of it…
‘The exact opposite of what dementia is. I’m very fortunate that I have a partner that doesn’t mind me speaking about my late wife.’
Scott and Tanya forged a close friendship over the years as they worked together to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s with ‘Bab’s Army’.
Alzheimer’s is close to Tanya’s heart with her running in the London Marathon as part of Bab’s Army for her step-father Derek.
Tanya, who knew EastEnders star Barbara and played drug addict prostitute Rainie Cross on the soap, admitted she can do ‘nothing but support’ Scott discussing Barbara’s battle and his work in caring for the TV icon.
Tanya said: ‘I can do nothing but support him in talking about it. You often feel alone in it when you are caring for someone with Alzheimer’s…
‘The communication allowed the support system to grow. Barbara is as much about the legacy of Alzheimer’s as it is me going through it with my step father. It is hundreds of thousands that we’ve raised from doing the three marathons.’
Scott is now in a relationship with his new partner Tanya Franks (pictured together in 2024), Barbara’s former EastEnders co-star and good friend
Scott echoed: ‘If for next year’s marathon someone would like to give a million pounds, a big company or sponsor, I will do another marathon and shave my hair off as well, and that is the big one, shaving my hair off.’
‘I don’t want people to go through the latter stages of what I went through with Barbara.’
He said: ‘She’s a wonderful lady who knew Barbara. It can’t be easy to be with someone who was the other half of Barbara Windsor, especially the fact that I still put myself out there and talk about her.
‘So, it says to me the type of person that Tanya is, that she can deal with that. She’s very sure of herself as a person. Just because you’re not with someone for whatever reason, it doesn’t mean to say that you just switch off some valve of love.’
