Ronnie Knight, ex-husband of EastEnders’ legend Dame Barbara Windsor, dies

Ronnie Knight, an ex-husband of EastEnders’ Dame Barbara Windsor, died on Monday in a Cambridge nursing home. He was 89. He was battling Parkinson’s disease. His condition deteriorated a few weeks back when he was diagnosed with pneumonia and never recovered.

A family friend called Ronnie ‘a rogue but a loveable one.’ Knight’s third ex-wife Sue Haylock supported him during his illness.

Barbara died of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease in 2020. Ronnie Knight and the EastEnders and Carry On legend remained married from 1964 to 1985.


Ronnie is still remembered for being associated with the gang that carried out the Security Express heist in 1983. To evade arrest, he fled to Spain and ran an Indian restaurant named ‘Mumtaz’. Soon, he became a part of the ‘Famous Five’, wanted for the robbery.

After returning to the UK in 1994, Ronnie was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment in 1995 for handling robbery. He was acquitted of murdering Alfredo Zamparelli.

In 1989, Ronnie Knight wrote a book, ‘Memoirs and Confessions’, in which he described how he paid a hitman to carry out a murder after his brother’s death. He wrote six books.

Ronnie married Elizabeth White in 1954 but divorced her in 1964. He met and married Barbara in 1964 when he was running a club in Soho. Ronnie married Sue Haylock in 1987 and got divorced in 1994.

According to media reports, he was in a relationship with Diane Lumley from 1995 to 2002.

FAQs

Who was Dame Barbara Windsor?
Dame Barbara Windsor was a British actor, known for her role in Carry On and EastEnders.

Why is Ronnie Knight known?
Ronnie Knight is remembered for his role in the Security Express heist in 1983.