Barbara Windsor 's husband has recalled how cruel trolls accused him of being with the EastEnders icon for her money.
Scott Mitchell opens up about his life with the late Peggy Mitchell actress and their 20-year marriage in a candid and moving new book, By Your Side My Life Loving Barbara Windsor, almost three years on from the Carry On star's death in December 2020 after suffering from dementia.
The late actress and Scott tied the knot in April 2000 but due to their 27-year age-gap were often subjected to unwanted commentary regarding their relationship, despite the pair enjoying a loving, almost three-decades long romance until the soap icon's death at the age of 83.
Following Barbara's death, Companies House were notified the star had passed away and her and Scott's joint company moved into his sole name - something that is standard practice in these situations. The update was reported online and sparked cruel comments from trolls.
"I don’t look at comments but for some reason, one was above the line and someone had said, 'I see the long game paid off'," Scott recalls reading following the change being made public.
Laughing, he add: "After 27 years and everything we went through together, it was shocking that someone could actually think like that. But it showed me that whatever you do, there’s always going to be someone critical.
"So I thought, 'Just tell your story like Barbara said you should'."
Speaking with The Sun, Scott, 59, goes on to explain how losing Barbara 'in the illness' prompted him to put pen to paper and detail their time together - adding how last summer he realised he wanted to put his thoughts down while 'still raw' in an attempt to look forward.
Elsewhere in his conversation with the publication regarding his new book, Scott painfully tells how almost three years on from Barbara's death he still sometimes wakes in the middle of the night, wondering if she's okay, before remembering she is 'never coming back'.
"That’s the hardest thing at first," he admits. "The realisation you’re never going to see that person again. You are never going to talk to that person. Never see them smile. Never argue with them . . . it’s hard to take in."
He also reveals how he met with former Prime Minister Boris Johnson in August this year to discuss plans to call the £95million set aside for dementia research The Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Mission - something he hopes Johnson's successor Liz Truss will honour and see through.
Prior to her death, Barbara had battled Alzheimer's for six years and, along with her husband Scott, raised awareness for the disease.
In a statement for the Alzheimer's Society following her sad death, the charity praised the actress and her partner and stated the couple had been "instrumental" in raising money needed for vital research.
Part of the statement read: "We will be forever grateful to Dame Barbara Windsor and her husband Scott Mitchell for sharing their dementia experience so bravely and publicly raising awareness of what it's like to live through this devastating disease, for people with dementia and their carers.
"Both Dame Barbara and Scott were instrumental in putting social care on the map through supporting our Fix Dementia Care campaign and in raising vital funds for dementia research through Dementia Revolution - the most successful Virgin Money London Marathon charity partnership campaign ever."
*By Your Side: My Life Loving Barbara Windsor by Scott Mitchell is out on October 13
