Ross Kemp has revealed that the deterioration of Dame Barbara Windsor's condition in her ongoing battle with Alzheimer's disease has been "shocking" to witness.
The 82-year-old was diagnosed with the condition in 2014 and then took the decision to quit her long-running role as Peggy Mitchell on EastEnders, with her character being killed off in 2016.
Kemp, who played Peggy's son Grant Mitchell in the soap, is a close friend of Windsor in real life and speaks to her husband Scott about her illness for new documentary Ross Kemp: Living With Dementia.
"I've been friends with Barbara and Scott for 25 years. Seeing how Barbara has suffered, and the effect it has had on Scott, drove me to take a look into the issue," Kemp wrote in a piece for The Sun.
"I found it is fast becoming central to Britain's social care crisis. Due to her condition, Barbara didn't take part in the film.
"I see her as often as I can - every couple of months before the lockdown - and the deterioration in her condition has been shocking and to those of us close to her, deeply upsetting.
"Scott spoke candidly, to give people an insight into this horrendous disease and the human cost and financial burden it places on sufferers and their families."
Ross Kemp: Living With Dementia starts tonight at 7.30pm on ITV.
Neil Wilkes
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