Barbara Windsor's widower Scott Mitchell reveals he quietly split from EastEnders actress Tanya Franks in April after three years

Scott Mitchell, 62, says the pair agreed their romance should 'evolve into a now incredible and kind friendship'. Friends say the spark faded, but that Tanya Franks, 59, was 'a rock' to him after Dame Barbara Windsor died of Alzheimer's aged 83 in 2020. The couple first bonded while training for the 2019 London Marathon for dementia causes. Mitchell says he will make no further comment out of respect for her privacy.

Franks played Rainie Cross in EastEnders on and off for 15 years.

Mitchell once hit back at critics who said he moved on too fast: 'How dare you?'

He was married to the Peggy Mitchell star for 20 years and became her carer.