Scott Mitchell, the husband of the late Dame Barbara Windsor, has confirmed that he has found love again after her death in December 2020.
The 60-year-old told The Sun that he is dating former EastEnders star Tanya Franks and said, "Life feels really good right now and we are enjoying some special time together."
55-year-old Franks starred as Rainie Cross on the soap for 382 episodes and left the show in 2022. Her character was a prostitute with a drug addiction. At one point, she had a fling with Phil Mitchell, the son of Barbara Windsor's character Peggy, which was a highly-criticised storyline on the soap.
The 55-year-old actress and producer has also had roles in The Bill and Broadchurch.
Mitchell and Franks have known each other for years, partly through their involvement in 'Babs' Army', a fundraising initiative for Alzheimer's research, named after Windsor.
Franks' stepfather has the disease, and Mitchell and Franks have ran several marathons as part of Babs' Army. The pair appeared together on Good Morning Britain ahead of the 2019 London Marathon to discuss their motivation for taking part in the event.
Barbara Windsor starred as pub landlady Peggy Mitchell in the soap for 22 years and died in December 2020, aged 83, seven years after she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. She is also well known from appearing in nine Carry On films.
Windsor and Mitchell were married for 20 years.
Their marriage was deemed controversial due to their 26-year age gap - Windsor was 63 and Mitchell was 37. This was her third marriage.
