Husband reveals diagnosis

Carry On and EastEnders star Dame Barbara Windsor has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

Her husband  Scott Mitchell told The Sun that Dame Barbara, now 80, had been given the news in April 2014.

He said she had been taking medication to manage the condition, but that it was starting to worsen.

Mitchell, 55, 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.’

He explained that she wanted to go public with the news so they could still go out in public and people would know the reason ‘if something isn't quite right’.

‘She often asks me, "Do the public know that I'm not well?" 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.’

The actress first appeared on stage at the age of 13  and her first film role was in The Belles of St Trinian's in 1954. 

She appeared in the first of nine Carry On movies in 1964’s Carry On Spying.

Dame Barbara also appeared in sitcoms including Dad's Army and One Foot In The Grave and the kids’ series  Worzel Gummidge before securing the role of pub landlady Peggy Mitchell in EastEnders in 1994.

She played the role for 16 years until 2010, making occasional one-off comebacks until the character was killed off in 2016.

She was made an MBE in 2000 and a dame in 2015 for services to drama.

Alzheimer's Research UK tweeted: ‘Everyone at Alzheimer's Research UK would like to send their best wishes to national treasure Dame Barbara Windsor, her family and friends following her husband's announcement that she's living with Alzheimer's disease.’

Published: 10 May 2018