diff --git a/src/plugins/debugger/watchhandler.cpp b/src/plugins/debugger/watchhandler.cpp
index c6481db3326e9bee58ea4c17ec6ec65c9082422a..d9a2e7548a5100cb553a30a72cfb01aa2d92353a 100644
--- a/src/plugins/debugger/watchhandler.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/debugger/watchhandler.cpp
@@ -100,6 +100,8 @@ static QByteArray stripForFormat(const QByteArray &ba)
             --inArray;
         if (c == ' ')
             continue;
+        if (c == '&') // Treat references like the referenced type.
+            continue;
         if (inArray && c >= '0' && c <= '9')
             continue;
         res.append(c);