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Dame Barbara Windsor's Husband Says ​Alzheimer's Is Making Her Forget Him

Dame Barbara Windsor's Husband Says ​Alzheimer's Is Making Her Forget Him

She was diagnosed back in 2014

Rachael Grealish

Rachael Grealish

Alzheimer's is a horrific disease and the most common cause of dementia that often takes its toll on many relationships, this isn't excluding that of Dame Barbara Windsor and her husband Scott Mitchell.

PA

Scott appeared on ITV's Loose Women and talked about living with Barbara's Alzheimer's and revealed she is starting to forget her husband of 18 years.

In the interview, he spoke of the heartbreaking moment the doctor told them both that Barbara had developed Alzheimer's. Barbara apparently turned to her husband and said: "I'm so sorry."

He also spoke about coming to terms with one of his biggest fears since the diagnosis - Barbara forgetting who he is.

Mitchell, who is 25 years younger than 81-year-old Windsor, said: "It happened the other week, I helped her out of the bath and she looked at me and said, 'I don't know who you are'."

He spoke about his wife, who was once the queen of soaps on Eastenders and started her career in comedy with the Carry On films, and said she has now lost some of that famous 'sparkle'.

He said: "I've always said, something happened to her personality. It was almost as if, I've always felt some veil came over her. You think to yourself, 'Well maybe she's getting a bit older, she's 81 now.' She was in her early 70s then. So, I accepted that as part of the course."

Mitchell is currently getting in gear to run the London Marathon next year to raise money for the treatment of dementia - of which Alzheimer's is the most common form - after he admitted it can be very difficult at times to live with a family member affected by it and he has a huge amount of guilt for when he loses patience with Barbara's repetitive moments.

He said: "Obviously, the thing I think that most people who have a loved one with this illness will get is the testing, challenging thing of the repetitive nature of it. For instance, when you're sitting there of an evening and maybe the same question comes at you, however many times, let's say eight to 20 times in one evening, sometimes it's hard to keep that calmness in your voice, to not show that you're slightly irritated.

PA

"As much as you love someone, you're human and you get to that point where you yourself may have had a day - I've got my own work to do, I'm thinking about Barbara - occasionally I show it."

Barbara still seemed to have her 'sparkle' when she appeared on camera to support her husband's Dementia fundraising efforts. We hope she is doing okay.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Celebrity, Eastenders, Loose Women, ITV