Barbara Windsor’s widower Scott Mitchell breaks silence on romance with Tanya Franks
Scott Mitchell, the widower of the late Dame Barbara Windsor, has broken his silence over his new relationship with another EastEnders actress.
Earlier this year, in July, Scott was reported to have found love again with actress Tanya Franks, who appeared in the long-running BBC soap as Rainie Cross, for a few short stints between 2007 and 2015, but joined Albert Square full-time in 2018 until her character left in 2022.
Now, in an appearance on This Morning, Scott confirmed his new romance as he spoke to hosts Dermot O'Leary and Holly Willoughby about Babs’ Army, the fundraising team he set up in the wake of his wife's death in December 2020, six years after she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
Revealing that he met Tanya through this charity work, which saw the pair, and a number of other EastEnders stars, run the London Marathon in order to raise money for Alzheimer’s Research UK.
"We met the first year that we did the marathon" Scott began, "It's a very funny thing. I could not have picked two ladies who are more opposite, they are the polar opposites when it comes to talking about their personal life."
Scott continued: "Tanya is an incredible lady, but she believes that her personal relationships are not something that she wishes to discuss. I respect that.
And although he didn't delve any further into their relationship, he did add: "We did meet through running and we still do run together."
After Scott and Tanya's relationship was made public, he told The Sun: "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."
The pair were later photographed together looking happier than ever in London's Marleybone, where they are believed to be living together.
Scott and Tanya became close friends throughout their fundraising efforts, which Tanya had her own personal reasons for joining as she later revealed that her stepdad had been diagnosed with dementia and her mum was his carer.
Throughout he numerous appearances on EastEnders, Tanya formed a friendship with Barabara, which lasted until the Carry On star's death.
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