Dame Barbara Windsor gave husband Scott Mitchell her blessing to move on after she died.
EastEnders legend Babs died on December 10, 2020 aged 83 having been diagnosed with Alzheimers disease in 2014.
Before she passed she made it clear to her devoted husband that he must find happiness again.
Scott, now 60, told Best magazine earlier this year: “Before she died, Barbara told me to cry, be broken-hearted, then have the best time.
“Knowing Barbara, she would have remarried – a nice 25-year-old by now!
“Now it’s time to think about me and my future. Barbara will always be a massive part of my life, but she would want me to move on.”
And Scott has now gone public with his new love, declaring that “life feels really good right now”.
He is enjoying a romance with actress Tanya Franks, 55, who has previously starred in EastEnders as drug addict Rainie Cross, the sister of Tanya Branning.
The new couple recently came out to their close friends on a holiday to Greece and are taking their blossoming love slowly.
A source told The Sun: “Scott has found love again with Tanya and is truly happy.
“His and Barbara’s friends are delighted he’s found someone to share his life with.
“It’s fairly early days but Scott is cautiously now looking forward to the future.
“They made the decision to update their wider circles while on holiday in Greece and everyone was over the moon.
“There is so much friendship and respect between them both and they’re taking things slowly.”
Read more: Scott Mitchell reveals how Dame Barbras spent her final weeks
Scott, who cared for Barbara as her health deteriorated, was still struggling with intense grief two years after her death.
He said at that time: “After 27 years I’m still in the early stages of grief and processing. I still think of the good times. That’s a really good thing for me to go back.
“I lost my best friend. My other half. That’s what I lost. That’s why I still feel that sense now that she still is there with me. Sometimes feeling the loneliness that she’s not there any more.”
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