How Barbara Windsor helped inspire a charity Christmas single

When we were discussing what causes to support for our charity Christmas single, the Alzheimer’s Society came up as a direct result of Barbara Windsor’s diagnosis of dementia.

The record producers, Saga Entertainment, raised the idea and I was happy to support them, as my own grandmother suffered from this cruel disease too.We were talking about it back in the summer and, having home-schooled my children in lockdown, I was also acutely aware of how many youngsters were really struggling too, alongside the older generation.For the youngsters, there was a real fear that the most vulnerable could get “lost” during the school closures.

Charities like Action for Children are working hard to pick up the pieces and help those children who really need it, now more than ever. 

For people with dementia, they are having to cope with their own diagnosis along with the extra struggles presented to us by the pandemic. The Alzheimer’s Society promises to be right there for them, from day one of dementia.

At Christmas we would normally have all generations together, uniting both the young and the old, so supporting both The Alzheimer’s Society and Action For Children seemed the right fit for a record to bring some extra festive cheer to everyone’s homes, as we all have a good sing of “Merry Christmas Everyone” together.20 pence from every download of the song will be split between the two causes. 31 different celebrities perform on the track, including boxer Frank Bruno, The Chase’s Anne Hegarty and Good Morning Britain’s Richard Arnold and Laura Tobin (oh, and me!)Today was always the planned release date for the song, and it feels poignant that it falls on the day we learnt of Barbara Windsor’s death. I like to think that if she was still with us, she would have enjoyed a little bop along to it.

You can download the single here.