Denise ‘inviting ex for Christmas dinner’

SHE’S found love again with husband Lincoln Townley, after splitting from Tim Healy in 2012 because they had both been unfaithful.

But former Coronation Street actress Denise Welch is planning to invite her ex-husband, along with his new wife Joan Anderton, to a family dinner on Christmas Day.

The star, pictured far left with Joan, Tim and Denise’s husband Lincoln Townley, has stayed pals with her ex, to whom she was married for 24 years. They will be celebrating Christmas together, with Tim helping Lincoln out in the kitchen.

The TV star told a daily newspaper: ‘My sons Matty and Louis and Tim and Jo will be there along with Lincoln and his son Lewis. Tim and Lincoln will be in the kitchen.’

Tim and Denise have two sons: 16year-old Louis and 28-year-old Matt, who is frontman with rock band The 1975. Denise, who was previously married to David Easter in the mid-1980s, married Benidorm star Tim in 1988. By 2012, the marriage was over, with a tearful Denise announcing the couple’s separation on an episode of Loose Women in February 2012.

At the weekend, the actress – who has recently been busy auditioning for TV roles in LA – opened up about her battle with alcohol addiction, saying: ‘I don’t want to sound “bah hambug”, but Christmas in years past has not been my favourite time. Alcohol made me and my family miserable.’