'EastEnders' Star Barbara Windsor Diagnosed With Alzheimer's
Barbara Windsor's symptoms had worsened in recent weeks, as her husband finally confirmed that the "EastEnders" star was diagnosed with Alzehiemer's disease as far back as April of 2014. Windsor is now 80 years old.
Windsor has been taking prescriptions to manage the symptoms of her condition, but lately, she has been "continually confused," according to her 55-year-old husband, Scott Mitchell. The couple finally confirmed reports that Windsor, who was made a dame in 2015 for her body of work in drama, was diagnosed with Alzheimers, according to BBC.
"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," Mitchell admitted in a recent interview with The Sun.
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"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," he continued, adding that it is his hope that speaking out like this will eventually help families who also have members dealing with dementia and Alzheimer's, as well.
On top of that, Mitchell added that he was well aware of how Windsor loves talking to her fans and that they, in turn, "are naturally very drawn to Barbara."
It seems like Windsor has also been concerned for her fans as well, as Mitchell revealed. "She often asks me, 'Do the public know that I'm not well?' And she asked me again this morning," he said.
Dame Barbara appeared in nine "Carry On" films, but the role many of her fans were most fond of was her turn as pub landlord Peggy Mitchell in "EastEnders." She has been acting on-stage from the time whe was 13 years old, first appearing in a pantomime skit before going on West End performances.
Windsor and her husband married in April of 2000, a fact that the actress now sometimes forgets, as he shared with the Evening Standard.
Mitchell said the he first noticed the first signs when Windsor began to have trouble learning her lines in 2009. It was the same year that she left "EastEnders" for the first time, as well. The couple thought nothing of it at the time, perhaps because Windsor was already 71 years old by then.
It became more apparent by early 2012, when Windsor started repeating her stories and even sentences, as her husband shared. Finally, she was diagnosed in 2014 after a series of tests and a brain scan.
Windsor mouthed the words "I'm so sorry" to her husband, as he recalled.
Alzheimer's is the most common cause of declining brain functions and dementia, and those affected by the disease can go on for years before showing symptoms. When they do, it usually presents as confusion, speech problems, and memory loss.
