Denise: “These are tough times – but we’ve got to look out for one another”
Loose Women star Denise Welch on staying positive amid the restrictions and why she’s focusing on being bikini fit…
We’ve spent ten months in and out of lockdown as a result of the pandemic – and while Denise Welch is as fed up as the rest of us at the sense of déjà vu with the current restrictions, the Loose Women star – who’s battled alcohol addiction and depression in the past – understands better than anyone the resolve needed to weather the storm.
DEPRESSION
She says, “It’s been tough, and I think we all thought that nearly a year on we’d be out of this, and we’re not, so I think mentally it’s very hard. There’s a lot of people crumbling under the stress. We’ve got to look out for our friends and family, and remember that not everyone’s experience is the same.”
Actress Denise, 62, became a household name in 1993 when she starred in the hit drama series Soldier Soldier. Four years later, she was cast as man-eater Natalie Horrocks in Coronation Street. Over the past three decades, Denise – who’s mum to The 1975 frontman Matty Healy, 31, and actor Louis, 19, with ex-husband Tim Healy – has been candid about her struggle with mental health, having first battled postnatal depression following Matty’s birth in 1989.
She’s suffered debilitating panic attacks and bouts of depression over the years since – and revealed last year that at her lowest point, in the ’90s, she tried to throw herself out of a moving taxi “to stop the pain” she was going through.
But it’s been 15 months since her last serious mental health episode and Denise explains just why she feels so fortunate.
She says, “I keep touching wood, because my depression tends to be endogenous [not attributable to any external or environmental factor] rather than reactive, so I never know when it could come. Every day that I’m not mentally ill is a good day for me.
“From a personal point of view, I feel incredibly lucky at the moment. I’m working, I’m healthy and so are my family.”
In the past, Denise has documented her struggle with alcohol addiction, making the decision in 2012 to quit booze with her third husband (she was married to actor David Easter from 1985-88), Lincoln Townley. People’s drinking habits have changed hugely since the first lockdown in March last year, with studies showing more than a quarter saying they were drinking on days they wouldn’t usually since restrictions first came in. But Denise says she and Lincoln haven’t been tempted to succumb.
She says, “Alcohol and I didn’t have a very good relationship. I am so grateful I met Lincoln and we got sober together, because it’s not only for me and our marriage – our children have benefited the most. We never fancy a drink. It’s hard, though, when you’re feeling really low and other people have something to take the edge off. We don’t have that.”
INTIMATE SCENES
In her working life, Denise is thrilled to be back on screen in a new role as Trish Minniver in Hollyoaks. Trish is mum to Maxine, played by Nikki Sanderson, with whom Denise used to work on Corrie. Amusingly, due to COVID filming restrictions, producers are recruiting the actors’ partners as body doubles for any intimate scenes, so Lincoln is primed to stand in as Trish’s toyboy, Brad King, played by Tom Benedict Knight.
“When I informed Lincoln, he thought I was joking,” Denise laughs. “I told him, ‘They’re already making the wig’. He hasn’t
stopped working out since! Meanwhile, Tom’s wife looks like a supermodel, so God knows how I’m going to get around it [if she stands in as Trish]!”
BIKINI BODY
Now in her sixties, Denise boasts a youthfullooking size 12 figure, having maintained her two-stone weight loss for seven years. Detailing her shape-up, the actress revealed how she once replaced her alcohol addiction with food, and credits the Lighter-Life plan for helping her embark on a healthier lifestyle.
And as soon as lockdown lifts, Denise can’t wait to head into the sunshine and reveal her bikini body.
She says, “I’m desperate to get back to normal. I’d love to go away and get some sun. It’s not about me going, ‘Look at me in my sixties wearing a costume!’ It’s more, ‘Don’t let anybody tell you you’re too old to wear a swimsuit – get it out there!’”
● Watch Denise in Hollyoaks, Monday to Friday on Channel 4
‘Every day that I’m not mentally ill is a good day’