I’ll never forget Babs’ last words to me
FORMER EastEnders star Ross Kemp says he will remember Dame Barbara Windsor’s final words to him for the rest of his life, in an emotional interview yesterday.
The actor, who played Grant Mitchell in the BBC One soap, spoke to Barbara – his on- s creen mum Peggy – days before she died on Thursday aged 83 following a battle with Alzheimer’s.
Ross, 56, said: “I spoke to her three weeks ago on FaceTime and by that time Barbara was in a very bad state.
“I asked Scott [ Mitchell, her husband] if she had a window because the nature of the illness is it comes and goes, and as you get closer to the end, you lose more and more consciousness.
“She had a window, he rang me on a Sunday afternoon and she just turned round to me and said, ‘ I just want everything to be good for you in your life,’ and that is something that will stay with me for the rest of my life.” Ross also heaped praise on Barbara’s husband, 57, for caring for her so well as her health deteriorated over the years.
Speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Ross said: “She was a genuinely good person. She was so lucky to have Scott... he truly, truly loved her and they cared for each other deeply.”
He added: “Even though we all knew it was going to happen, it’s coming over me in waves.”
Ross, also known for his documentaries, was appearing on GMB to again encourage the Government to increase funding into dementia research and care. The incurable condition, which includes Alzheimer’s disease, affects 850,000 people in the UK and their families.
Ross said: “I know we’re headed for a dreadful economic time, Brexit, Covid... but bear in mind someone develops dementia every three minutes in the UK and it’s still considered a social- care issue. “It’s a medical issue that affects people mentally and slowly takes over their entire bodies.
“[ Campaigning] is part of Barbara’s legacy. Scott wants the Government to fulfil their promise – I would like to see a dementia tax. There is no cure, there is no vaccine and it’s getting worse.
“By 2050, they estimate there will be two million people with dementia. We need to spend more money on research and find out how to prevent this.
“It’s estimated because of the care family and friends provide, they save the Government in the region of £ 11.7billion a year.”