My warm friend and EastEnders legend Barbara Windsor forgets who she is — but we sure won’t
WITH Covid-19 dominating the headlines and swallowing up the resources of the NHS, it’s easy to forget people are still suffering from other serious and life-threatening diseases.
And “forgetting” has been very much on my mind this week, with the cruelty of dementia laid bare in Thursday night’s searing ITV documentary from the always- excellent Ross Kemp.
He has a personal reason for highlighting the plight of sufferers and carers.
His EastEnders screen “mum”, Barbara Windsor, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s six years ago and her condition has rapidly deteriorated since lockdown.
The 82-year-old film and TV legend is now so badly affected she may soon have to go into a care home. That is something her devoted husband, Scott Mitchell, has been dreading.
The couple married in 2000 with some cynics sniffily declaring it would never last, mainly because of the 26-year age gap, but Scott proved them all completely wrong.
He adores his wife and has put his life on hold, and his physical and mental health at risk, to take care of his Barbara.
Scott has also helped to raise funds and awareness for dementia charities, even taking part in the London Marathon with a group of Barbara’s friends from EastEnders.
Barbara is old school. She always said she owes her fame to the public and that they deserved a smile, a cheery wave and a quick photograph.That’s why she is so adored and why we are so very upset she is having to go through this anguish.
Lorraine Kelly
It has been deeply sad to see how this disease has ravaged one of the most delightful women in showbiz.
I always adored interviewing Barbara. She was sunny, funny, full of fascinating stories and always interested in everyone and everything.
She would have a laugh with the crew, a cheery chat with our production team and was exactly the same whether the cameras were rolling or not.
I know a lot of famous actors and entertainers who are grumpy gits until the red light goes on. Barbara was never like that. She is a consummate professional, but also a delightfully warm human being.
I remember seeing her at an event in London, where she was swamped by photographers and members of the public. She’s so tiny I couldn’t actually see her in that large sea of people, but what I did observe was how everyone came away with an autograph or a selfie.
Barbara is old school. She always said she owes her fame to the public and that they deserved a smile, a cheery wave and a quick photograph.
That’s why she is so adored and why we are so very upset she is having to go through this anguish. Scott says her speech is growing worse and she now struggles to find the words to express herself.
She ends up sitting shaking her head in sadness and frustration. Barbara is also getting up two or three times a night, becoming unsteady on her feet and falling over. Scott is worried sick that she will suffer a really serious injury.
Sometimes Barbara looks at old photos of herself and asks, “Who is she?” and increasingly she doesn’t recognise Scott, which cuts him to his very heart and soul.
This disease is so brutal, because it chips away at the sufferer, steals their memories and erodes what makes them unique.
You gradually lose the person you love and have to mourn them while they are still alive. That’s why the work both Scott and Barbara have been doing is so vital.
When she bravely told us she was ill two years ago, the Alzheimer’s Society saw visits to its website double and one-off donations to the charity rose by 59 per cent.
She made a plea to the PM to help carers and sufferers, and to increase funding, and Barbara was one of the few people that made Boris Johnson stop waffling and actually listen.
Dementia is a second epidemic within this pandemic, which is why we need more documentaries like the ones from Ross.
There are 850,000 sufferers that we know about in the UK, and with us all living longer that number will carry on increasing.
Relatives caring for those blighted by the disease can often feel alone and helpless. GPs and the NHS do their best, but it can be a lottery as to what expert care is available.
As we have seen during this crisis, care home workers are an extraordinary group of people who treat their frail and elderly patients like a second family, but no one really wants to put a beloved parent or partner into a nursing home.
Relatives caring for those blighted by the disease can often feel alone and helpless.
Lorraine Kelly
There comes a time, however, when there is no other choice. Scott is now facing that prospect and it is tearing him apart. I also spoke this week to the musician Naughty Boy, whose mum Zahida suffers from dementia.
He is a devoted son and lives with his mum to take care of her. Naughty Boy is backing Dementia UK’s Lives On Hold campaign, which focuses on carers and how draining it is for them, especially since lockdown.
He wants to stress that there is help out there. I was touched at how he makes sure there is at least one thing every day for his mum to look forward to, to give her joy.
He tries to see some light in the darkness and it’s also something Scott has always tried to do. He has to be Barbara’s memory and keep a hold of the love they have for one another.
Even if they have to be parted so she can go into a home, nothing can take that love away from him or anyone else going through the same sad experience.
Raab has GoT to be hounded over knee gaffe
IF you are going to quote Game Of Thrones, then for the love of God at least get it right.
Tone deaf Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab dismissed those who support the Black Lives Matter campaign by taking a knee, as seeming to “get the idea from Game Of Thrones”.
This was not only hugely insulting, but Raab didn’t even bother to get the phraseology right. In Game Of Thrones, the characters are willing to die before they would BEND the knee in front of despots and royalty.
In the real world it’s about expressing solidarity against racial inequality.
Raab believes the heartfelt gesture is a “symbol of subjugation and subordination” and he would only do so for the Queen and his wife.
Those who take the knee, including footballers at the return of the Premier League this week, and many protesters here and in the US, were astounded by his crass remarks.
Following such widespread incredulity and anger, Raab has been furiously back-tracking. I do hope his Twitter clarification is genuine and not just another Government damage-limitation tactic.
If this really was an episode of Game Of Thrones, he would have had his a*** handed to him by my favourite character, Sandor Clegane, known as The Hound.
After that encounter, I guarantee he would never again be able to bend any part of his anatomy.
Honest Adam: So inspiring
HOLLYOAKS actor Adam Rickitt is an astonishingly candid and brave man. He not only spoke about his mental health at a time when it was considered career-destroying, but has talked frankly this week about being infertile.
Adam suffers from an auto-immune disease that has made it impossible for him to ever father children. The 42-year-old has ankylosing spondylitis, which has had a devastating effect on his sperm count.
While other men might have felt embarrassed about it, Adam has been refreshingly honest. He revealed the doctor told him most men have three million sperm, but he only had two. Not two million but TWO.
He and his wife Katy Fawcett, a top correspondent with Good Morning Britain, are very happy with their three dogs. Adam has been equally upfront about his mental health and suicidal thoughts.
Since meeting Katy in 2011 his life has turned around and, alongside acting jobs, he’s running a craft beer bar and shop. The couple call it their “baby”.
They adore each other and are lucky to feel complete without kids.
Gwyn’s orgasm candle
GWYNETH PALTROW’S latest attention- seeking wheeze is to bring out a candle that “smells of her orgasm”.
This is a follow-up to last year’s model that bore the catchy title, “This candle smells of my vagina”.
Not sure about you, but I have no wish to have my living room reeking of Gywn or anything to do with her sex life.
I also cannot begin to imagine the sheer buttock-clenching embarrassment suffered by her two teenage kids.
I think what her candles really smell of are pure unadulterated bulls**t.
Time for an awards cult
THE Oscars and Baftas have been delayed for a few months due to Covid-19, so this could be a good time for the film industry to have a rethink about the whole business of award shows.
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Instead of a seemingly never-ending run of ceremonies, perhaps there should be a cull.
In the US they could keep the Oscars for films, the Emmys for TV and the Tonys for theatre, and here the Baftas, NTAs and Oliviers.
Then each event would be special, rather than a seemingly endless parade of bored-looking stars like Renee Zellweger, above, done up to the nines and wishing they were at home.
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