The widow of Dame Barbara Windsor has confirmed that he's found love with another actress three years of the EastEnders star's death. Scott Mitchell is said to have gone official with Tanya Franks, who also starred in the BBC One soap, on holiday this month in Greece.
While he hasn't publically shared the news, he told The Sun when approached for comment on the relationship: "Thanks for your kind wishes. Life feels really good right now and we are enjoying some special time together".
Fans will recognise Tanya, 55, for having played Tanya Branning’s sister Rainie Cross in EastEnders. She appeared in a number of episodes between August 2007 and 2018, when she signed up full-time before leaving in August 2022.
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Scott, 60, and Tanya are said to have first bonded while training for the London Marathon, which he ran in 2019, 2021 and 2023, alongside a team of EastEnders stars. "Babs' Army" has raised thousands of pounds for Alzheimer’s Research UK in the soap icon and Carry On legend’s name following her death aged 83.
Before this year’s marathon in April, Scott hinted he was ready to start looking to a future without Barbara after 20 years of marriage. "This is definitely my last marathon and my last time running for Babs’ Army," he shared
"I know I said that last time but this one really is my last one. It doesn’t get easier. For the last few years I have tried to keep Barbara’s memory alive. I’ve done my best to raise money and awareness for Alzheimer’s and dementia but I think after this marathon it will be time to pull back a little."
He added: "It has been really important for me to do but it’s now time to focus on myself for a bit. I need to look after myself and focus on my future and my happiness."
Dame Barbara was famed for her roles in the Carry On films and for playing Mitchelle matriarch Peggy Mitchell in EastEnders she left the latter in 2016 when her character was killed off. And unbeknownst to viewers, she discovered she was suffering from Alzheimer’s in 2014 and went public with her diagnosis four years later.
She was credited with helping others to speak openly about their own experiences of dementia after the decision to make her diagnosis public. The Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Mission was launched by former prime minister Boris Johnson in August 2022 to develop innovative research tools and increase the number and speed of clinical trials in dementia and neurodegeneration.
