Dame Barbara Windsor has undergone a heart operation to have a pacemaker fitted after she fainted at home.
The 81-year-old acting legend, who is suffering from degenerative brain disease Alzheimer’s, spent eight days in hospital after she started getting "very dizzy and short of breath" due to complications from her medication, but she is now "recovering really well".
The ‘Carry On’ movie star’s husband Scott Mitchell, 55, said: "She’s looking forward to getting out on the town again soon.
"Barbara was suffering from a low heart rate which doctors thought was being caused by some of her medication.
"She was getting very dizzy and short of breath and fainted one day at home, so she had an eight-day hospital spell about four weeks ago and they’ve put in a pacemaker for her.
"But she’s recovering really well."
Barbara’s heart specialist Dr Rodney Foale added to The Sun newspaper: "Barbara is doing very well."
Following her recovery from the op, the former ‘EastEnders’ star’s pal Christopher Biggins is now planning to take her out next week.
He said: "I spoke to her last week and I’m going to see her next week. We’re going to go out. She likes to go out because she spends a lot of time indoors.
"She loves The Ivy restaurant. She lives in Marylebone, so there’s lots of lovely restaurants there."
Ross Kemp – who played Barbara’s on-screen son Grant Mitchell in ‘EastEnders’ – has admitted she sometimes forgets who he is when he visits her, but admits it is a "relief" she still likes him.
He told the publication: "She’s as vibrant as ever but her short-term memory has gone. One minute she knows who I am then she asks, ‘Why are you here?’ The thing about dementia is that the polite filter is gone.
"It’s a bit like being a child again because you just say it how it is. Luckily, she says she still likes me, which is a relief.
"It’s horrible to deal with but she’s still the same Babs we know and love."
Scott – who has been with Barbara for 25 years, 18 of which they have been married – revealed in May that Barbara has was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2014, and admitted she has "no recollection" of their relationship history at times.
He said: "She suddenly has no recollection of our history.
"She’ll look at her wedding ring and say, ‘Are we married?’ But that’s the thing about this cruel disease, isn’t it?
"She’s not frightened of me, so I’m thankful for that. Over the last couple of days, the conversation has turned to, ‘I just think it’s wonderful that you come here to look after me’ — and she keeps thanking me.
"I say, ‘Barbara I’m not here to look after you, I’m here because I love you’."
Barbara Windsor undergoes heart operation
