Barbara Windsor can no longer see pals at showbiz bashes because of her brave Alzheimer’s battle, reveals her friend Christopher Biggins.
But he says she shouldn’t be remembered for her dementia ordeal – but for getting her boobs out in Carry On films.
“I don’t want the legacy of the disease to overshadow the legacy of her career,” he says.
“We must always remember Barbara in that field in Carry On Camping with her bra coming off. That’s how Barbara would prefer to be remembered.”
Ex-EastEnder Barbara, 82, is cared for at home by her husband Scott Mitchell after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2014.
Comic actor Biggins, 70, says she is “hanging in there”.
“Barbara is never going to be 100 per cent,” he adds. “It is a terrible disease and is awful for her and everyone involved.
“She is still able to get out and about sometimes but I don’t think she would be able to go to a big event any more.
“It would be too much for her. She’d get too confused.
“She gets upset when she is confused and doesn’t quite know what’s going on.
“I saw her about a week ago at home. She has always recognised me and she still knows who I am.
“But I don’t want people to end up just remembering Barbara for the disease. She is doing so much good.
“She has done so much in her life and had a fantastic career.
“I don’t want people to forget that – that is the heartbreaking thing for me.”
Barbara began her career on stage in 1950 at age 13. She made her film debut as a schoolgirl in The Belles of St Trinian’s in 1954.
In 1972, she starred opposite Vanessa Redgrave in a West End production of The Threepenny Opera.
Then, between 1964 and 1974, she appeared in nine Carry On films.
Her last EastEnders appearance was in 2016.
