Natalie Cassidy and Barbara Windsor’s widower Scott Mitchell discuss running London Marathon

Natalie Cassidy and Barbara Windsor’s widower Scott Mitchell will run the London Marathon in honor of the late EastEnders star.

Barbara died in 2020 at age 83 after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and now some of her EastEnders co-stars and Scott, 60, are running the 26.2 miles in her memory.

Natalie, Jake Wood, Heather Pearce, John McIntyre and Lacey Turner are among the cast members who will take up the challenge in April as ‘Bab’s Army’.

They are raising money for Alzheimer’s Research UK as they remember Barbara.

Speaking about Lorraine on Thursday, Natalie said: ‘We did a half marathon on Saturday. We all have a WhatsApp group and support each other.

Scott said: ‘I did 16 miles the other day with Jake Wood. I am so lucky to have these amazing friends who will do it with me. It’s for Alzheimer’s Research UK.

He continued: ‘I know three people right now who are going through loved ones who are having a difficult time with the disease. That’s why we’re doing it. We do it for them.

Natalie also revealed that she had a close bond with Barbara, who played Peggy Mitchell, saying, “I feel so privileged to have been on the soap when she was there.”

‘She showed me the ropes. She taught me how to be.

It comes after Scott shared the moving words his late wife told him shortly before her death two years ago.

The actor reflected on his grief in an interview with Better magazine and said that now is the time for him to think about his future as Barbara would have wanted him to.

Speaking candidly about his two-year dueling battle, Scott admitted he’s “getting better” and shared the sweet words Barbara shared with him before she passed away.

He told Best, “Before she died, Barbara told me to cry, break my heart, and have the best time.” Knowing Barbara, she would have remarried a nice 25-year-old by now!’

Scott went on to say that while Barbara will always be important to him, it’s time to think about his future and said he’s open to whatever comes in life.

He said: ‘Now is the time to think about myself and my future. Barbara will always be an important part of my life, but she would want me to keep going.’

His latest comments come after Scott recently claimed that people cruelly accused him of only using the Carry On legend, who was 26 years his senior, for his money.

Appearing on Good Morning Britain in December, Scott said that Barbara was actually £1 million in debt when the couple met.

Scott, who began his relationship with the soap star when she was 63 and he was 27, said: “She was a million pounds in debt when we met.” I must have been the world’s worst gold digger. I was really wrong, wasn’t I?’

Everyone thought who is this guy who is this unknown actor. They thought it was me who ended the marriage. [her second]. They called me a gold digger.

Following Barbara’s death, Scott was left with £4.6 million in his will, with the star also donating to various charities.

The iconic actress was married three times in her life, first to Ronnie Knight in 1964 and then to Stephen Hollings for nine years before divorcing in 1995.

Scott continued to reflect on Barbara’s death by saying, ‘It’s unbelievable. Tomorrow marks two years. I keep thinking she’s going through the door.

‘It’s something deep inside of me. I wake up some mornings wondering if he’s still okay.’

‘After 27 years I am still in the early stages of grieving and processing. I still think about the good times. That’s a very good thing for me to come back.

‘I lost my best friend. My other half. That’s what I lost. That’s why I still feel that feeling now that she’s still there with me. Sometimes feeling the loneliness that she is no longer there.

Scott went on to talk about his book titled By Your Side: My Life Loving Barbara Windsor about their marriage of twenty years.

‘She [Barbara] predicted it [the book]. He said that one day, when I’m gone, they’ll ask you to write a book. She said you have to and you have to be totally honest.

‘I learned a lot from Barbara about life and love.’

Last year, it broke out that he left £4.6m in his will, but also donated £1,000 each to seven different charities, according to The Sun.

Barbara also left 85-year-old Anna Karen, who played Peggy Mitchell’s sister Aunt Sal in EastEnders, £1000.

The newspaper adds that £5,000 was left to Barbara’s sister-in-law, Marsha Alexander, and her husband Laurence. £2,000 went to her cousins ​​Leslie Larsen and Julie Elliot.

The NSPCC, Breast Cancer Care, Help The Aged, Grand Order Of Lady Ratlings, National Osteoporosis Society, Headley Court (a rehabilitation center for wounded soldiers) and Age UK formed the seven charities to which Barbara left £1000 each .

Scott kept the remainder of Barbara’s £4.63 million estate.

Barbara was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2014 and kept her fight against the disease private for four years.

Barbara’s last television role was to star in her own biopic, chronicling her humble beginnings in Shoreditch until 1993, with Jaime Winstone and Samantha Spiro playing the star at different points in her life.

Read Scott Mitchell’s full interview in the new edition of best magazine, now on sale.