Barbara Windsor’s widower Scott Mitchell has opened up about the EastEnders’s star’s death.
The Carry On actor, who was known for her role as Queen Vic landlady Peggy Mitchell, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2014 and died in 2020 aged 83.
Mitchell revealed Windsor, who campaigned to improve dementia care before her passing, often confused him with another family member towards the end of her life.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain on Thursday (25 July), Mitchell told host Richard Madeley Windsor still knew who he was but her recognition of him “came and went” in her final days.
He revealed: “At times she would confuse me for other people and at one point ironically she said to me ‘Are you my daddy?’ It’s a cruel thing to watch.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Mitchell, who married Windsor in 2000, revealed the first signs of the soap star developing health issues were when she “froze at work” on the set of EastEnders.
“She came home and said ‘I don’t know what’s happened, I just went blank. For the life of me, not only could I not remember the lines, I didn’t know why I was here or what I was doing,’” he said. “And that was way before diagnosis. I’d say that was a good three years before diagnosis.”
Windsor was diagnosed with Alzheimers in 2014, with Mitchell first noticing symptoms in 2009. A year later, Windsor was written out of EastEnders when her character Peggy committed suicide by taking an overdose of pain medication.
In a statement after Windsor’s passing in 2020, Mitchell said: “Barbara eventually died peacefully and I spent the last seven days by her side.
“Myself, her family and friends will remember Barbara with love, a smile and affection for the many years of her love, fun, friendship and brightness she brought to all our lives and the entertainment she gave to so many thousands of others during her career.
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“Barbara’s final weeks were typical of how she lived her life. Full of humour, drama and a fighting spirit until the end.”
Following Windsor’s death, the soap star’s widower became the People’s Champion of the UK dementia mission, which was launched in memory of the beloved star.
He said in March: “I am honoured to be appointed as the People’s Champion of the Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Mission, that was named after my late wife.
“She lived an extraordinary life, and her brave campaigning made a powerful impact on so many others who were going through the same.
“I want to keep her story alive and help bring to light the stories of so many others who are affected by this terrible disease.”