‘I have seen a real progression’: Barbara Windsor’s husband Scott Mitchell reveals she’s started to struggle with her speech and suffer falls amid Alzheimer’s battle
- Barbara Windsor, 82, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2014, and is now being cared for round-the-clock by her husband Scott Mitchell. 57
- In a clip from Ross Kemp’s ITV Special Living with Dementia, he admits that Barbara becomes frustrated as she struggles with her speech
- Scott adds that she’s begun to suffer falls more frequently after waking up in the night
- He also tells Ross that his wife will soon have to move into a care home, something he’s ‘always feared’
Barbara Windsor’s husband Scott Mitchell has revealed she’s beginning to struggle with her speech after a ‘real progression’ in her battle with Alzheimer’s.
Speaking to Ross Kemp in a clip from his ITV special Living With Dementia the actor, 57, admits she can become frustrated at her inability to speak, and she’s begun to suffer falls after waking up in the night.
It comes after Scott emotionally revealed that wife Barbara may have to move into a care home soon as her Alzheimer’s continues to progress.
Hard: Barbara Windsor’s husband Scott Mitchell has revealed she’s beginning to struggle with her speech after a ‘real progression’ in her battle with Alzheimer’s (pictured in December 2017)
In the clip, Scott explains that he can see Barbara struggling to speak, and becomes disheartened when she just gives up.
Asked by Ross how Barbara’s Alzheimer’s has progressed since he last visited in February, Scott says: ‘I have seen a real progression the things that started happening with her is her speech, she can’t find the words.
‘And you just see that frustration building up within her, and what I hate is that she just gives up, she just looks at me and goes.’
Difficult: The actor admits she can become frustrated at her inability to speak, and she’s begun to suffer falls after waking up in the night (pictured with Barbara in December 2017)
Scott also emotionally revealed that the Alzheimer’s is also beginning to affect Barbara’s mobility, as she suffers from falls after getting up in the night.
He adds: ‘The other thing is she’s started to have falls more regularly, what will happen is she will get up two or three times in the night to go to bathroom, but her legs will give way and I find her on the floor.’
Scott goes onto admit that in recent months he’s been told that Barbara will soon have to move into a care home, as he can no longer provide the round-the-clock care she needs.
Upsetting: It comes after Scott emotionally revealed that wife Barbara may have to move into a care home soon as her Alzheimer’s continues to progress
He also reveals that he was told the upsetting development by a specialist after Barbara’s Alzheimer’s battle ‘worryingly progressed’.
‘It’s the thing I’ve always feared. He’s basically telling me I need to prepare myself that at some point it may not be sustainable to give her the kind of care she needs at the house.
‘I’ve had some fairly dark moments since he said that because there’s a part of me that knows that most likely is the truth and that’s what needs to happen. There’s another part of me which can’t imagine letting her go.
‘I can’t imagine leaving that lady when she talks to me the way she does and putting her somewhere and her thinking, “Why has he done this to me?”‘
Friend: Scott will discuss Barbara’s Alzheimer’s battle with Ross Kemp, who played her son Grant Mitchell on EastEnders, in a new documentary (Ross and Barbara pictured in 2009)
In May, it was reported that Scott was struggling with COVID-19 lockdown because Barbara can’t understand why nobody is visiting her.
The Carry On actress was diagnosed with the degenerative condition in 2014 and is now being cared for round-the-clock by her husband Scott.
The actor married EastEnders star Barbara in 2000 and the star is accustomed to close friends and family constantly checking in on her.
Barbara, who is best known for her role as Peggy Mitchell in EastEnders and for starring in nine Carry On films, first revealed she was suffering from the disease, for which there is currently no cure, in May 2018, after being diagnosed in 2014.
Scott said her condition worsened at the beginning of the year, and that the legendary actress often gets confused as to where she is.
Scott said the situation was ‘heartbreaking’, adding that she forgets short-term things like if she’s had dinner, but remembers things about her childhood and early career.
Dame Barbara has massively raised awareness of the condition by sharing her own diagnosis and appearing in a Dementia Revolution appeal video in 2018.
Watch Scott’s emotional interview on Ross Kemp: Living with Dementia, which will air tonight at 7:30pm on ITV.