It has been just a few months since the world discovered that Dame Barbara Windsor was living with Alzheimer’s, but the 81-year-old looked full of Christmas cheer over the weekend as she stepped out in London with her husband Scott Mitchell.
The acting legend couldn’t wipe the smile from her face as she posed alongside Scott as the couple made a rare appearance at the Evgeny Lebedev Christmas party.
Carry On icon Barbara clutched her husband of 18-years’ arm as the pair grinned for the cameras, with Barbara looking in great spirits for one of a handful of public appearances since her Alzheimer’s battle was laid bare.
The veteran screen star looked stunning in a gold blazer and matching top which she paired with a pair of classic black trousers and heeled boots. While Scott stood out from the crowd in a red and blue blazer over a light blue shirt, and a pair of dark purple trousers and smart black shoes.
Scott, 55, revealed in May this year that the former EastEnders veteran and Carry On legend has been secretly battling the degenerative brain disease behind closed doors for four years.
Revealing the moment the 80-year-old actress, who also starred in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, found out the devastating news, Scott, 55, told The Sun: “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’.”
Barbara famously played landlady Peggy Mitchell in UK soap EastEnders, which aired in Australia on the ABC from 1987 to 1991. She’s also a well known name right across the world, having begun her career on stage in 1950 at the age of 13, before going on to star in the Carry On films.
Scott has spoken candidly about his wife’s condition on several occasions and more recently shared a moving personal story about Barbara forgetting who he was whilst he was helping her take a bath.
“About two weeks ago, she’d had a bath and I was drying her back, when suddenly she looked at me with almost fearful apprehension,” he said. “She said, ‘Who are you? What are you doing here?’ and I replied, ‘It’s me Bar, it’s Scott, your husband’.
“She snapped out of it almost instantly but then became very distressed and cried, ‘Oh Scott, it’s my memory, I’m so sorry’.”
Two weeks ago Barbara was back on the small screen as she took part in a video campaign for UK charity Dementia Revolution.