Barbara Windsor’s widower Scott Mitchell finds love with EastEnders star Tanya Franks 3 years after death

The widower of Barbara Windsor, Scott Mitchell, has found love again three years after the late Dame died. Scott and Barbara were married for 20 years from 2000 until her death from Alzheimer’s in 2020.

Scott has reportedly moved on with EastEnder star Tanya Franks. Tanya played Rainie Cross on the BBC One soap for 15 years across four different spells from 2007 with her latest stint ending in 2022.

Speaking of finding love again, Scott told a national newspaper: "Life feels really good right now," before adding: "Life feels really good right now and we are enjoying some special time together."

A source also told the newspaper: “His and Barbara’s friends are delighted he’s found someone to share his life with. It’s fairly early days but Scott is cautiously now looking forward to the future. They made the decision to update their wider circles while on holiday in Greece and everyone was over the moon."

His wife, Barbara Windsor, played EastEnders matriarch Peggy Mitchell for 22 years in the popular BBC soap from 1994 until 2016 when her character was killed off. She was best known for being the landlady of the Queen Victoria pub.

She was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2014, with Scott going public with diagnosis four years later in 2018. He revealed that he first noticed symptoms of Alzheimer’s in 2009 when Dame Barbara began finding it difficult to learn her lines.