EastEnders actress Dame Barbara Windsor hinted at her battle with Alzheimer's disease in two previous interviews in the past six years, it emerged today.

The 80-year-old actress has kept the devastating news secret since she was first told in 2014, but her symptoms are said to have grown worse in recent weeks.

She said in December 2017 that she did not like to perform anymore, saying how she wanted audiences to remember her for her roles in the Carry On films.

Dame Barbara Windsor walking arm in arm with husband Scott Mitchell, the last time she was pictured in public in London last month

The actress, who was out and about in London with Mr Mitchell on April 6, has been taking medication to battle Alzheimer's disease

Speaking to the Daily Mirror at the time, she revealed that she had given up her tradition of performing in pantomime, saying: 'My life is different now.

'It took me a long time to get used to it because all of a sudden you look at your age and go 'Oh Christ, I'm getting older.' I do like to perform.

'But I don't do it so much now. I suddenly thought 'No, I won't do it now. Let them see me in Carry On films and they'll still think I'm like that.'

Her husband said he first noticed symptoms in 2009, just before his wife left EastEnders for the first time, when she began finding it difficult to learn her lines.

Then in 2012, she told the Daily Mirror that she was struggling to remember scripts and the demands of the show had become too much on her personal life

Dame Barbara said at the time: 'You hit an age when you have to study that bit harder – unless you are June Brown who, at 84, can pick it up and learn it in a second.

She added: 'That is a bit of old age I have got, ­scattiness. I just forget things.'

Also today, her husband revealed how he urged Eastenders bosses to kill off her character Peggy Mitchell after Dame Barbara was diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

Barbara's husband said he first noticed symptoms in 2009, just before his wife left EastEnders for the first time, when she began finding it difficult to learn her lines. Pictured: The EastEnders star with David Walliams and his mother

Peggy Mitchell's final scene in Eastenders was aired on May 17 2016

She was shown taking her own life after she was given a terminal cancer diagnosis

Dame Barbara played Peggy Mitchell (pictured) on the soap from 1994 until she left for good in 2016

Scott Mitchell has told how he convinced executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins that the character should be written out of the BBC soap.

He said Dame Barbara first went to him to suggest she should she should leave for good after her memory loss worsened. But he told her: 'I can't kill an iconic character'

Mr Mitchell, who revealed today how his wife is battling the disease, told him she would not be coming back after her final stint on the show in 2016.

He told The Sun: 'Barbara contacted the Executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins to make the suggestion and, at first, he said, 'I can't kill an iconic character'.

'So I went to see him and, without giving the full situation, confided that she was really struggling to learn lines and wouldn't ever be coming back again after this.

'I asked that she have an autocue on set, just as a safety net. But in the end, she just used it to refresh her memory between takes. If you saw the Peggy death scenes, you could see she wasn't reading it.

'Ironically, I think it's some of the best work she ever did. I was incredibly proud of her.'

Barbara's husband Scott Mitchell revealed how his wife began to cry in the neurologist's office when they were given the bad news in April 2014

Dame Barbara joined the cast of Eastenders in 1994 to play Peggy Mitchell, She left for two years between 2003 and 2005, announced she would quit in 2009, but then returned for one of episodes in 2013, 2014 and 2015.

Her last appearance aired on May 17 2016 when Peggy took her own life after being diagnosed with terminal cancer.

In a heartbreaking interview today, Mr Mitchell told how the 80-year-old has been taking medication to manage the illness, but her memory loss symptoms have worsened.

He described how his wife - famed for her loveable laugh - began to cry in the neurologist's office when they were told she had the degenerative brain disease in April 2014.

The star's close friend Jane Moore, who interviewed Mitchell said she now 'can't be left at home on her own' and 'gets confused.'

Speaking on ITV's This Morning the journalist said the star is 'thrilled' at the reaction from the public after her diagnosis was revealed.

The actress has been taking medication to manage the degenerative disease, but her symptoms have grown worse in recent weeks. Pictured left, on Eastenders and right, in Carry On Camping

She said now it has been made public it will make their life easier.

The Loose Women panellist said: 'He can't leave her on her own in the house any more.

'He used to be able to pop out for half an hour but he can't now as she gets to confused as to where he's gone.

'Now he'll be able to take her out more which will be a release for him and for her and to get people to come round and be with her'

Mr Mitchell, 55, told The Sun: 'Firstly, I hope speaking out will help other families dealing with loved ones who have this cruel disease

'Secondly, I want the public to know because they are naturally very drawn to Barbara and she loves talking to them.

'So rather than me living in fear she might get confused or upset, they'll know that if her behaviour seems strange, it's due to Alzheimer's and accept it for what it is.'

He added: 'When the doctor told us, she began crying then held it back, stretched her hand out to me and mouthed, 'I'm so sorry...

WHAT IS ALZHEIMER'S? Alzheimer's disease is a progressive, degenerative disease of the brain, in which build-up of abnormal proteins causes nerve cells to die. This disrupts the transmitters that carry messages, and causes the brain to shrink. More than 5 million people suffer from the disease in the US, where it is the 6th leading cause of death, and more than 1 million Britons have it. WHAT HAPPENS? As brain cells die, the functions they provide are lost. That includes memory, orientation and the ability to think and reason. The progress of the disease is slow and gradual. On average, patients live five to seven years after diagnosis, but some may live for ten to 15 years. EARLY SYMPTOMS: Loss of short-term memory

Disorientation

Behavioral changes

Mood swings

Difficulties dealing with money or making a phone call LATER SYMPTOMS: Severe memory loss, forgetting close family members, familiar objects or places

Becoming anxious and frustrated over inability to make sense of the world, leading to aggressive behavior

Eventually lose ability to walk

May have problems eating

The majority will eventually need 24-hour care Source: Alzheimer's Association Advertisement

'I squeezed her hand back and said, 'Don't worry, we'll be OK'.

'I can't protect her any longer. I'm doing this interview - and I would like to make clear that I'm not being paid for it and it's the only one I'll be doing - because I know that rumours are circulating in showbusiness circles.

'And, since her 80th birthday last August, a definite continual confusion has set in, so it's becoming a lot more difficult for us to hide.

'I don't want it to come across that she's sitting there unable to communicate, because she's not.

'We're still going out for walks or dinner with friends and we still laugh together a lot. She loves going out and it's good for her - she comes alive. And of course, the public are naturally very drawn to her, which I don't want to stop.

'But as soon as we leave the house, I live in constant terror that she's going to say something, or suddenly have a panic attack, or get photographed when she's not looking right.

'I didn't want someone else to dictate how or when the diagnosis came out, so that's why I'm speaking about it now.

'I'm doing this because I want us to be able to go out and, if something isn't quite right, it will be OK because people will now know that she has Alzheimer's and will accept it for what it is.'

Mr Mitchell, a former actor who now manages other EastEnders stars, decided only to tell their trusted friends after Barbara was diagnosed because they had started to notice signs of memory loss.

He said Dame Barbara, his wife of 18 years who is also known as 'Bar', had struggled to accept the diagnosis.

'We walked out of the neurologist's office and it was almost as if she chose to forget what we had just been told.

'That's Bar 100 per cent. And I understood because who would want to take that in? Sometimes, denial is easier, isn't it?

'It was important to her to keep going through life without people looking at her in any different way. And I respected her wishes on that.

'For it to have come out any earlier would have been detrimental to her well-being and her health.

Television hosts Piers Morgan and Lorraine Kelly were among the first celebrity names on social media to pay their respects to Barbara and her husband Scott

Mr Mitchell said he first realised there was something not quite right in 2009 when his wife first left EastEnders.

He said: 'Barbara had always prided herself on her memory and would say if anyone wanted to know anything, they'd phone her. But she started to find it difficult to learn her lines.

Ross Kemp, who acted alongside Dame Barbara in Eastenders paid tribute to the couple for 'talking openly' about her diagnosis

Other celebrities to pay tribute to the star included Radio DJ Tony Blackburn and presenter Eamonn Holmes, who uploaded a picture with Dame Barbara and his wife Ruth Langsford

'She also had a couple of freezes when working, which was unusual for her. But we didn't think anything of it.'

He said by 2012 she began to repeat stories and sentences and was told she should visit Dr Kennedy.

Then by 2016 her repetitiveness became even more common and she became confused during conversations.

Barbara was born in Shoreditch to a fruit and veg cart seller and a dressmaker.

The Dame has enjoyed a decorated career on stage and on the screen.

The TV icon - who became a Dame in 2016 - made her first film debut at the age of 17 in The Belles Of St Trinian's (1954).

Windsor as Daphne Honeybutt in Carry On Spying in 1964 (left), and posing for a risque New Year Year shoot in 1969 (right)

She received a BAFTA Award nomination for Sparrows Can't Sing (1963), and a Tony award nomination for the Broadway production of Oh, What A Lovely War! (1964).

She then became known for her comedic talents when she starred as the 'good time girl' in the Carry On series between 1964 and 1974.

She was cast in EastEnders as Peggy Mitchell in 1994, for which she received the Best Actress Soap Award at the 1999 BSAs and a Lifetime Achievement at the 2009 BSAs.

In 2016, Barbara won the Outstanding Contribution Award at the TV Choice Awards, and Best Exit at the Inside Soap Awards, for her portrayal of Peggy's death.

There are more than 850,000 dementia sufferers in the country, with Alzheimer's disease the most common form.

Symptoms of the disease often include difficulties with thinking and memory loss.

Dr Aarmer Khan, of Harley Street Skin Clinic and author of Turn Back Time, tests patients' DNA and gut bacteria to determine whether they are prone to the gene that causes Alzheimer's or dementia.

He told MailOnline: 'It’s so important to offer these tests to my patients so they can be aware at a young an age as possible if they could be struck down by this condition.

'The effect that Alzheimer's on the person with the condition and their loved ones is life changing and early testing can predetermine susceptibility to the early onset and later in life onset of this disease, giving us the knowledge to keep it at bay and fight back.'

Barbara Windsor poses and smiles for the camera with Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly at the Bafta Awards in London in 2000