Ross Kemp's Barbara Windsor discovery that made him immediately call her husband

Actor has revealed he made a jaw-dropping discovery about late actress, , which was so overwhelming, he immediately had to call her husband. The actor, 60, starred in the soap alongside the Peggy Mitchell star as loveable thug, Grant, before Dame Barbara sadly died aged 83 from Alzheimer's.

Ross was given the honour of writing the eulogy for the star's funeral in 2020 and says it was while he was looking for a pen to write his speech, something seriously strange happened. Recalling the discovery, in which he claimed the Carry On star sent her love 'one last time'.

He said: "'I was writing her eulogy and my pen ran out. And I reached up, it's a true story, a card, like a thin card - I didn't know what it was at the time - got caught under my fingernails as I was reaching for the biro.

He continued: "And I pulled it up, and it was a card from her that she'd sent me some flowers. I didn't even know that was up there. I must have just thrown that up there in a little random moment.

"And it was: 'Thank you, darling. Love you, Bar.' And it was like so that I rang Scott [her husband] up and I said, ''You won't believe what's just happened'',' Ross told the.

Ross' former on-screen mum Barbara was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2014 and kept it a secret for four years until symptoms started to show in 2018. Sadly, her condition worsened and she died in December 2020 at a London care home.

Her husband, Scott, who was 27 years younger than his wife of 22 years Barbara, said the cherished actress' final weeks were "typical of how she lived her life" and "full of humour, drama and a fighting spirit until the end".

He told the PA at the time: "Her passing was from Alzheimer's/dementia and Barbara eventually died peacefully and I spent the last seven days by her side.

"Myself, her family and friends will remember Barbara with love, a smile and affection for the many years of her love, fun, friendship and brightness she brought to all our lives and the entertainment she gave to so many thousands of others during her career.

"Barbara's final weeks were typical of how she lived her life. Full of humour, drama and a fighting spirit until the end. It was not the ending that Barbara or anyone else living with this very cruel disease deserve.

"I will always be immensely proud of Barbara's courage, dignity and generosity dealing with her own illness and still trying to help others by raising awareness for as long as she could."

Ross paid an emotional tribute to Barbara as her famous friends bid farewell to the legend at her funeral. The star spoke movingly in a eulogy of how the nation fell in love with her.

A source told the at the time: "“Ross’ speech was so incredibly moving and uplifting in equal measure....it was very much from the heart and he got teary at times.

“He told a wonderful story about how producers on EastEnders wanted Grant to slap Peggy in a big fight scene but he told producers he couldn’t do it.

“Instead he pretended to do but Babs took her art so seriously she performed this huge acrobatic act and flew back over the table onto the floor.

“He said it was so convincing he got 5000 letters a day for the next year saying what a terrible bloke he was and, incredibly, he still gets letters to this day, such is the love for Babs from the public.”

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