DAME Barbara Windsor’s widower Scott Mitchell is set to play a key role in a national dementia initiative honoring her.
He will be the People’s Representative of the Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Mission.
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It was launched two years ago by then Prime Minister Boris Johnson in memory of EastEnders and Carry On legend Babs, who died of Alzheimer’s disease in 2020 aged 83.
The taskforce, made up of NHS and industry leaders, as well as academics and charities, has also announced an additional £6m for clinical trials and innovation.
Volunteers are needed to join a Babs army by registering for the trials.
Scott, 61, looked after actress Babs after she developed dementia in 2014.
READ MORE ABOUT SCOTT & BARBARA
Experts fear that the number of sufferers, currently 944,000, will exceed the million mark by 2025.
Science Minister Michelle Donelan said: “It is an incredibly cruel disease and the leading cause of death in the UK.”
Scott tells Caroline Iggulden why his new role would have meant so much to Barbara. . .
“I will never stop being proud of the courage, dignity and generosity Barbara demonstrated as she sought to raise awareness of Alzheimer’s disease while struggling with her own illness .
She gave a voice to millions of people affected by this terrible disease and we are told that her voice changed the entire conversation about dementia.
I know how proud she would have been when we launched the Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Mission in her memory almost two years ago.
A lot has happened since then, from funding to support important dementia research to supporting our Babs Army of volunteers who support important clinical trials.
But we still have a lot to do before we find a cure.
People come up to me on the street to talk about Alzheimer’s. Maybe they have it, maybe it’s a family member, maybe they’re raising money for charity.
After suffering the heartache of slowly losing Barbara to this cruel disease, I believe that as many of these stories as possible need to be heard.
That’s why I was very happy when I was asked to be the People’s Champion for the Dementia Mission.
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There is so much positive work being done in the fight against dementia at the moment.
Awareness of the disease is growing thanks to the support of friends, including The Sun, which reported Barbara’s dementia story from the start.
And now charities, industry, government and our NHS are all working together as part of a national mission and public funding for dementia research will be doubled.
However, for this to work, it is important that the real, lived experiences of those affected are at the center of our actions.
The loss of Barbara was indescribably difficult, but the work we are doing now to give all people with dementia a voice, in memory of Barbara, inspires me and gives me hope.
I want to live up to the name “People’s Champion” and can’t wait to travel the country to hear from patients, their families and more.
I strongly believe in putting their stories and their needs at the heart of the UK’s response – so we get solutions that work, from new clinical trials and tests to detect Alzheimer’s earlier, to improved care.
This work begins today at the heart of government with an event at Number 10, bringing together people with lived experience, charities, the NHS and industry.
I am very pleased that we as a country are finally giving this issue the attention it needs.
We still have a long way to go to beat dementia, but if we work together we can and will win.”