Scott Mitchell, the widower of Dame Barbara Windsor, has split from EastEnders actress Tanya Franks after three years together. The couple, who first went public with their romance in 2023, decided in April to end their relationship but remain friends.
Relationship timeline
Scott, 62, was married to Dame Barbara, who died aged 83 from Alzheimer's disease in 2020. He began a relationship with Tanya, who plays Rainie Scott on the soap, after her passing.
Scott told The Sun: "I can confirm Tanya and I had a couple of wonderful years together. In true respect of each other, we felt in April our relationship should evolve into a now incredible and kind friendship... Tanya is also a highly private person. Out of respect for her, I will not be commenting any further on this matter."
Friends and support
Sources added: "Scott and Tanya have chosen to end their relationship but remain committed friends... She was a rock to Scott in the years that passed after Barbara’s death. Sadly they decided earlier this year that the spark had gone and they were better as friends."
Scott and Tanya first bonded in 2019, when they trained for the London Marathon together. He told ITV's Lorraine in 2023 that it had "started off as an incredible friendship" that blossomed into more.
Barbara's legacy
Dame Barbara became iconic for her portrayal of Peggy Mitchell in EastEnders between 1994 and 2016. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2014 but kept her diagnosis private until 2018.
Scott said of her diagnosis: "I knew hardly anything that was about to come with dementia. I had no idea that dementia was going to affect her mobility. It was going to affect everything about our relationship. I became her carer. I was having to do things for Barbara that she would have never have wished me to have had to do to look after her. You do literally have to learn on the job."
He told Lorraine that his late wife had told him to find love again when she died: "She was such a generous lady and had such a generous spirit. She always used to say I’ll go first and be upset and be heartbroken but once you’ve done that, please live the best life you can. And that’s what I’m doing."
Scott added that Barbara would "always hold a special place in my heart" and that "being miserable or alone wouldn’t bring her back and she wouldn’t want that".
