25 September 2023 , 06:11
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Barbara Windsor's widow Scott Mitchell "couldn't be happier" as he finds love again, according to friends
The EastEnders actress died in 2020 after battling Alzheimer's disease. Barbara, who played icon Peggy Mitchell, was first diagnosed in 2014 before her condition was made public in 2018. Scott cared for his wife before sadly she moved into a care home months before her death, due to her condition worsening.
Three years on from her death, Scott has found love again with Barbara's former EastEnders co-star Tanya Franks. The pair had been friends prior to their romance and both campaigned about the disease. Having confirmed their relationship over the summer, friends of the couple gushed over their pairing.
Scott has found love again with Tanya (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Scott was married to Barbara until she passed away in 2020 (UK Press via Getty Images)Make-up artist to the stars Gary Cockerill told OK!: "He looked after her [Barbara] until the very end. He really is a special man. Of course he wanted to find happiness again – and Tanya is a really lovely lady." While Gary's husband Phill Turner added they "couldn't be happier".
Earlier this month Scott appeared on Lorraine where he talked about Barbara's hopes for him to not be miserable or lonely after her death, saying she would have been happy for him and Tanya. As Lorraine talked of Barbara giving him permission to move on, he said: "She was a generous lady, a generous spirit. She always used to say, 'I'll go first, be upset, be heartbroken but once you're through that please live your best life'."
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He added of Tanya: "I'm very, very lucky. It started as a nice friendship and developed into something more. We are very happy, she is off on tour… it's really lovely. She’s incredibly supportive of the work I do for the campaigning, so there is no fear there or worry of oh, it's about my late wife, because she has had her own personal family experience with this illness.
"She knows what it's all about so thank goodness, life feels really good. Me feeling miserable now or being alone isn’t gonna bring [Barbara] back, and she wouldn’t want that. I know that the one person who would be happy for me is Barbara Windsor." Scott and Barbara tied the knot back in 2000 and he continued to support her through her diagnoses and right up to her death aged 83. His new love is thought to be his first relationship since Barbara's death.
Scott has gone on to raise awareness of dementia and has ran the London Marathon in Barbara's name, with many EastEnders co-stars joining Scott for the iconic event – including Tanya. Scott and Tanya are rumoured to have moved in together after they were spotted hand in hand. It's thought that the new couple are living in the £4million West London home that Scott shared with Barbara Windsor when they were married.