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Barbara Windsor
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==Personal life== Windsor was married three times, and had no children. She was married to: # [[Ronnie Knight]], (married 2 March 1964,<ref>GRO Register of Marriages: MAR 1964 5e 828 EDMONTON β Ronald P. Knight = Barbara A. Windsor</ref> divorced January 1985) # Stephen Hollings, chef/restaurateur (married 12 April 1986 in [[Jamaica]],<ref>{{cite book|title=All of Me: My Extraordinary Life|last=Windsor|first=Barbara|year=2000|publisher=Headline Book Publishing|isbn=978-0-7472-7007-2}}</ref> divorced 1995) # Scott Mitchell, former actor and recruitment consultant (married 8 April 2000)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mitchell |first=Scott |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_CRsEAAAQBAJ |title=By Your Side: My Life Loving Barbara Windsor |date=2022-10-13 |publisher=Orion |isbn=978-1-3996-0285-3 |language=en}}</ref> Prior to her marriage to Knight, Windsor had a [[one-night stand]] with [[East End]] criminal [[Kray twins|Reggie Kray]], and a longer relationship with his older brother [[Charlie Kray]].<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/mar/25/ameliahill.theobserver Kray's deathbed secrets revealed"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161202011000/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/mar/25/ameliahill.theobserver |date=2 December 2016 }}, ''[[The Guardian]]'', 25 March 2001.</ref> During the time of making her later ''Carry On'' films, she had a well-publicised affair with her fellow actor and co-star [[Sid James]], which lasted three years, until 1976.<ref name=bbcobit/> Windsor was initially uninterested in James, 24 years her senior, but later stated that she thought she would have sex with him once, and then he would leave her alone;{{sfn|Windsor|2000|p=208}} however, James reportedly became obsessed with Windsor and suffocatingly possessive of her, to the extent that during the ''Carry On London!'' stage show, he shouted at [[Bernard Bresslaw]] because he had helped Windsor off the stage, the only reason being that Bresslaw had touched Windsor.{{sfn|Windsor|2000|p=219}} James, who, like Windsor, was also already married, would send her a dozen red roses with a note attached with the words "Love Romeo", and even arranged to see her in Australia during her ''Carry On Barbara'' one-woman show, as he could not bear to be without her.{{sfn|Windsor|2000|p=224}} He would also state his love for her in public and to Windsor's friends, but after the affair began damaging Windsor's mental health, she ended it. Devastated by her decision, James became depressed and started to drink [[whisky]]; he died soon afterwards from a [[heart attack]].{{sfn|Windsor|2000|p=240}} Another of Windsor's ''Carry On'' co-stars, [[Kenneth Williams]], accompanied Windsor and Knight on their honeymoon, also bringing his mother and sister with him.<ref>Stevens, Christopher. ''Born Brilliant: The Life of Kenneth Williams'', John Murray Publishers, Hachette UK Company, London, 2010; {{ISBN|978-1-84854-197-9}}.</ref> Windsor also dated [[Gary Crosby (actor)|Gary Crosby]] in the 1960s{{sfn|Windsor|2000|p=71}} and had brief sexual encounters with [[Victor Mature]],{{sfn|Windsor|2000|p=71}} [[Anthony Newley]],{{sfn|Windsor|2000|p=74}} [[Ronnie Scott]],{{sfn|Windsor|2000|p=65}} [[James Booth]],{{sfn|Windsor|2000|p=107}} [[George Best]]{{sfn|Windsor|2000|p=196}} and [[Maurice Gibb]],{{sfn|Windsor|2000|p=173}} the latter two while she was still married. In the late 1950s, Windsor became engaged to singer Cliff Lawrence, but he physically beat her.{{sfn|Windsor|2000|p=71}} In her autobiography, ''All of Me'', Windsor stated that she often turned up at Winston's, the club where she sang, with a black eye, and detailed one occasion when Lawrence dragged her down the street by her hair.{{sfn|Windsor|2000|p=71}} Windsor ended the relationship, and then started dating Knight. Windsor said that Lawrence would spy on her and Knight from [[telephone boxes]], only leaving them alone after Knight threatened him.{{sfn|Windsor|2000|p=89}} In her autobiography, Windsor discussed her five [[abortion]]s: three in her 20s, and the last at the age of 42. She said that she never wanted children as a result of her father rejecting her after her parents' divorce.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/1999/mar/15/features11.g21|title=Barbara Windsor: Body of evidence|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=15 March 1999|access-date=14 August 2008|location=London, UK|archive-date=8 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140508032554/http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/1999/mar/15/features11.g21|url-status=live}}</ref> Windsor was best friends with fellow actress [[Anna Karen]], whom she met while filming ''Carry On Camping'' and who later went on to play [[Peggy Mitchell]]'s sister [[Aunt Sal]] in ''EastEnders'' on and off for 20 years.{{sfn|Windsor|2000|p=165}} Windsor was friends with [[Amy Winehouse]], and in 2012 became a patron of the [[Amy Winehouse Foundation]].<ref>[http://amywinehouseforever.org/509/news/barbara-windsor-and-amy-winehouse-had-a-secret-friendship "Barbara Windsor And Amy Winehouse Had A Secret Friendship"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120712083315/http://amywinehouseforever.org/509/news/barbara-windsor-and-amy-winehouse-had-a-secret-friendship/ |date=12 July 2012 }}, Amy Winehouse official website. Retrieved 28 January 2013.</ref> In 2014, Windsor unveiled a statue of Winehouse in [[Camden Market]]. ===Health problems=== In April 2014, Windsor was diagnosed with [[Alzheimer's disease]]. She chose not to make news of the condition public, but it was known to her friends and colleagues. On 10 May 2018, Windsor's husband, Scott Mitchell, publicly revealed her condition.<ref>{{cite news|title=EastEnders star Barbara Windsor diagnosed with Alzheimer's|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-44062921|work=[[BBC News]]|date=10 May 2018|access-date=10 May 2018|archive-date=10 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180510002450/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-44062921|url-status=live}}</ref> In January 2019, Mitchell and some of Windsor's former co-stars from ''EastEnders'' announced that they would be running the [[London Marathon]] in aid of a [[dementia]] campaign.<ref name="London Marathon">{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-46794236 |title=EastEnders stars to run marathon for Dame Barbara Windsor |date=8 January 2019 |work=[[BBC News]] |access-date=8 January 2019 |archive-date=8 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190108202320/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-46794236 |url-status=live }}</ref> Mitchell said that Windsor's health and mental state had been deteriorating, and she had moments when she no longer recognised him.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.itv.com/news/2019-01-08/dame-barbara-windsor-dementia/|title=Dame Barbara Windsor's husband describes the heartbreaking moment when she didn't recognise him|publisher=ITV|date=7 January 2019|access-date=8 January 2019|archive-date=9 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190109062934/https://www.itv.com/news/2019-01-08/dame-barbara-windsor-dementia/|url-status=live}}</ref> On Windsor's 82nd birthday in August 2019, she and Mitchell became ambassadors for the [[Alzheimer's Society]]. On the same day, Mitchell and Windsor appeared in a video for the charity, in which Windsor said, "Unite with me, against dementia". Mitchell highlighted the problems many face with the disease, and urged viewers to sign a letter to [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] [[Boris Johnson]], saying he "urgently needs to address these challenges."<ref name="Alzheimer's Society">{{cite web|url=https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/barbara|title=Barbara Windsor and Scott Mitchell become Alzheimer's Society Ambassadors|date=8 August 2019|work=[[YouTube]]|access-date=1 September 2019|archive-date=1 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190901200718/https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/barbara|url-status=live}}</ref> In August 2020, [[BBC News Online|BBC News]] reported that Windsor had been moved into a [[nursing home|care home]] in London.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-53635317|title=Dame Barbara Windsor moves to care home|work=BBC News|date=3 August 2020|access-date=18 August 2020|archive-date=28 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200828185928/https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-53635317|url-status=live}}</ref>
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