Ross Kemp has revealed fresh heartache for his friend Barbara Windsor , as her father-in-law died.
The EastEnders legend is currently battling Alzheimer's disease, with her husband Scott Mitchell caring for her.
During an appearance on Loose Women today, Ross, who played Babs' on-screen son, announced that Scott's father, Ron Mitchell, has passed away.
Ross said he saw the family last night and was given permission to pass the sad news along.
When asked how Barbara is doing, he told the panel: "Well you know, she's got Alzheimer's so it's debilitating every day."
He added: "I popped in last night ... Scott's had a pretty hard time of it lately, he ran the marathon as you know to raise money but his dad, Ronnie Mitchell, sadly passed last night.
Barbara Windsor is fading away before my eyes, says husband Scott Mitchell
"So I was on the phone to him last night as he knows I was going to mention this."
Jane Moore, also a friend to the family, added: "His dad was called Ron Mitchell, and [Scott] wanted us to say, you know, 'My dad was my hero'."
Ross said: "I met him, lovely man and obviously we're thinking about the family right now."
Scott, 56, recently took on the London Marathon to raise money for an Alzheimer's charity in honour of his wife, 81.
Scott said last month that the memory-loss disease had left his beloved wife fading away before his eyes.
Scott, who has been married to the ex-EastEnders star for 19 years, has been supporting her since her memory started going nine years ago.
He first noticed something wrong with Barbara when she started drawing blanks during filming for her soap scenes, and had panic attacks about going out in public.
She stopped being able to do her own makeup and relied on Scott to pick out her outfits, having previously had lots of confidence about her personal style.
But Scott has vowed to stand by his wife until the very end, even as she fades away in front of him.
"I can wind the clock forward years and really frighten myself because I don't know what’s going to happen from here to next year," Scott told Chris Evans.
Barbara Windsor suffers blackouts but still has fun despite Alzheimer's battle
"I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, to be honest, so my plan is that Barbara must always feel safe and loved as long as I can humanly make that happen. The rest is most likely way beyond my control."
* Loose Women airs weekdays from 10.30am on ITV
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