- Awards
- 3
EastEnders star Barbara Windsor diagnosed with Alzheimer's
The actress Dame Barbara Windsor has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, her husband has said.
Speaking to the Sun, Scott Mitchell said his 80-year-old wife had been given the news in April 2014.
He said the EastEnders star had been taking medication to manage her condition but that symptoms had worsened in recent weeks.
The veteran of film and TV was made an MBE in 2000 and a dame in 2015 for services to drama.
In the newspaper interview Mr Mitchell said: "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.
Image caption Dame Barbara played Peggy Mitchell in EastEnders - a character who became known for her cry "Get outta my pub!"
"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."
"I hope speaking out will help other families dealing with loved ones who have this cruel disease. Secondly, I want the public to know because they are naturally very drawn to Barbara and she loves talking to them," he added.
Mr Mitchell said his wife was aware that he was making her diagnosis public.
"She often asks me, 'Do the public know that I'm not well?' And she asked me again this morning," he said.
"I said they didn't yet, but we were going to have to let them know because so many people are talking now. But if she forgets that she gave me her blessing, well, I'll just have to deal with that."
Image copyright PA
Image caption EastEnder actress Barbara Windsor with her husband Scott in 2000
Mr Mitchell said he noticed his wife found it difficult to learn her lines in 2009, just before she left EastEnders for the first time, but they didn't think anything of it.
By early 2012, she had started repeating certain sentences and stories, he said.
Following a series of mental agility tests and a brain scan, he said, she was diagnosed.
He recalls that on hearing the news, his wife mouthed the words "I'm so sorry" to her husband.
"I squeezed her hand back and said, 'Don't worry, we'll be OK'", he told the newspaper.
Image caption The actress appeared in sitcoms including one Foot in the Grave
Dame Barbara appeared in nine Carry On films and played the pub landlord Peggy Mitchell in EastEnders.
The actress first appeared on stage at the age of 13 in a pantomime and was soon performing in the West End musical Love From Judy.
In 1964 she worked on her first Carry On film - Carry on Spying.
She was also in sitcoms including Dad's Army and One Foot in the Grave.
In 2009 she was given a Lifetime Achievement Award at The British Soap Awards.
Swami
The actress Dame Barbara Windsor has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, her husband has said.
Speaking to the Sun, Scott Mitchell said his 80-year-old wife had been given the news in April 2014.
He said the EastEnders star had been taking medication to manage her condition but that symptoms had worsened in recent weeks.
The veteran of film and TV was made an MBE in 2000 and a dame in 2015 for services to drama.
In the newspaper interview Mr Mitchell said: "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.
Image caption Dame Barbara played Peggy Mitchell in EastEnders - a character who became known for her cry "Get outta my pub!"
"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."
"I hope speaking out will help other families dealing with loved ones who have this cruel disease. Secondly, I want the public to know because they are naturally very drawn to Barbara and she loves talking to them," he added.
Mr Mitchell said his wife was aware that he was making her diagnosis public.
"She often asks me, 'Do the public know that I'm not well?' And she asked me again this morning," he said.
"I said they didn't yet, but we were going to have to let them know because so many people are talking now. But if she forgets that she gave me her blessing, well, I'll just have to deal with that."
Image caption EastEnder actress Barbara Windsor with her husband Scott in 2000
Mr Mitchell said he noticed his wife found it difficult to learn her lines in 2009, just before she left EastEnders for the first time, but they didn't think anything of it.
By early 2012, she had started repeating certain sentences and stories, he said.
Following a series of mental agility tests and a brain scan, he said, she was diagnosed.
He recalls that on hearing the news, his wife mouthed the words "I'm so sorry" to her husband.
"I squeezed her hand back and said, 'Don't worry, we'll be OK'", he told the newspaper.
Image caption The actress appeared in sitcoms including one Foot in the Grave
Dame Barbara appeared in nine Carry On films and played the pub landlord Peggy Mitchell in EastEnders.
The actress first appeared on stage at the age of 13 in a pantomime and was soon performing in the West End musical Love From Judy.
In 1964 she worked on her first Carry On film - Carry on Spying.
She was also in sitcoms including Dad's Army and One Foot in the Grave.
In 2009 she was given a Lifetime Achievement Award at The British Soap Awards.
Swami
