My Story

Thank you for donating to Babs’ Army.

Your generous support will help drive Alzheimer’s Research UK’s search for a cure in memory of Dame Barbara Windsor – an icon, national treasure and, in her later years, powerful dementia research advocate.

On April 23 2023, Barbara’s loving husband Scott Mitchell will take on his third (and last) London Marathon in memory of his late wife as leader of Babs’ Army.

He will be joined by a fantastic group of fellow Babs’ Army recruits, including Lacey Turner, Heather Peace, Jake Wood, Natalie Cassidy, Tanya Franks, Adam Woodyatt, Jane Slaughter, Candice Brown, Daisy Luckett, John McIntyre, and Sam Woodyatt.

The run marks four years since Scott and Barbara became the faces of Dementia Revolution – the 2019 London Marathon’s charity of the year, which included the charity Scott is now an Ambassador for, Alzheimer’s Research UK.

Not only did Scott raise awareness of the campaign, but he also ran his first ever marathon alongside a group of their friends in honour of Barbara. Together, as Barbara’s Revolutionaries, they raised a life-changing sum for dementia research and helped make Dementia Revolution the most successful charity partnership in London Marathon history.

Losing Barbara in December 2020 to Alzheimer’s disease devasted the nation. But so many remain grateful to her for being so open about her diagnosis – a decision that revolutionised people’s understanding of the disease and galvanised valuable support for research.

In the years since Barbara’s passing, Scott has continued her important legacy alongside Alzheimer’s Research UK – the UK’s leading dementia research charity.

All donations to the charity this year will support EDoN (Early Detection of Neurodegenerative diseases) – the largest initiative in the world that will collect, share and analyse clinical and digital health data to detect diseases like Alzheimer’s. Ultimately, this approach will be used by doctors to give an earlier and much more accurate diagnosis of dementia-causing diseases and will enable researchers to develop treatments that act earlier in the disease process. That would mean more years of quality life for individuals and their families.

You can follow the team's progress on their marathon journey on Instagram @BabsArmy. On behalf of Babs’ Army and Alzheimer’s Research UK, thank you for your support.