‘SHE WAS A GOOD OLD BIRD'

IN THE WEEK WHEN BARBARA WINDSOR WOULD HAVE TURNED WE LOOK BACK AT HER REMARKABLE LIFE

- SALLY BROCKWAY

If she were alive today, Dame Barbara Windsor would no doubt be inundated with tributes to mark her 84th birthday celebrations on August 6. There was no such thing as a quiet birthday for Barbara, who was loved and admired by all those she worked with during a showbiz career that spanned almost 70 years.

At the helm of any birthday surprises would be her husband Scott Mitchell, who was 25 years her junior. They met in 1992 when she was 55 and he went on to become her third husband. They were married for 20 years.

“We’re right together,” she once said of Scott. “I know I’ve said it before, but what Scott and I have is different. We cook together, we laugh together and we talk a lot. I know he loves me very much and, from the bottom of my heart, I know we will always be together.”

She was right. Scott stood steadfastly by her side, while her previous marriages to convicted criminal Ronnie Knight and chef Stephen Hollings ended in divorce.