On The Cover Denise Welsh Enjoying life in her 60s
The actress and Loose Woman on finding the fun in lockdown…
Denise Welch has surprised herself during the coronavirus pandemic. Instead of the enforced lockdown causing her a level of anguish that might bring on a bout of depression, she has, in the main, thrived.
“I’ve enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would,” explains Denise, 62. “I’ve felt low at times, but that was about the situation in the world – it wasn’t depression,” she continues. “I’ve been lucky to be able to go through lockdown strong and well, and to be positive and upbeat for the people who follow me and for my family, because if I go down it’s hard for them.”
It may be hard for Denise’s loved ones to see her unwell, but her new book makes clear how hard depression has been for her. It’s a searing account of life with the illness, which has dogged Denise on and off since she gave birth to her son Matthew 31 years ago.
TheUnwelcomeVisitor lays bare how badly depression can affect Denise. During deep bouts of the illness she’s thought about killing herself and was driven to alcoholism and self-harm.
“That happened when I was about to film Starsin TheirEyes in 1999,” recalls Denise. “I was in such a dark depression that I started hitting my head on the floor of the dressing room just to deeaden the pain inside. When [hoost] Matthew Kelly came to seee me, I was sitting inside th e wardrobe. I tried to exxplain, but he didn’t grasp wwhat I was going through.
“That’s the thing with d epression. People don’t understand u how bad it can be. b When someone has cancer, c you sympathise e because b you know what w that means, but people don’t know about depression and it’s not a something you can see. That’s why I’ve written this book.”
Many of what should have been high points of Denise’s life were marred by depression, including her years on CoronationStreet as Natalie Barnes and milestones like being on ThisIsYourLife.
Depression led
Denise to alcoholism, which in turn caused more frequent and longer depressive episodes.
Eight years ago, Denise kicked the booze alongside her then boyfriend (now husband) Lincoln Townley, an acclaimed artist. They live a quiet life in Cheshire with one of Denise’s sons, 19-year-old actor Louis Healy.
Denise couldn’t be happier with a home life that revolves around coffee, making pots of vegetable stew, watching “rubbish telly” and going to bed early. Denise and Lincoln’s seven-year wedding anniversary this month won’t be an all-night party!
“We were talking about what we would want to do if lockdown were lifted tomorrow and we both said,
‘Absolutely nothing different’,” says Denise with a chuckle. “We just want to stay in. I think sobriety makes you much less of a social animal. When we became sober we got rid of toxic people. Our real friends remained the same, but we don’t go to parties.”
While Denise will never be cured of depression, embracing sobriety and a healthier lifestyle mean the episodes are shorter and less frequent. “And I hope I can put across the message to other sufferers that life in between each episode can be
wonderful,” she says.
Although the pandemic has put TV and theatre productions on hold, Denise has filmed the web drama DunBreedin’ from home alongside telly favourites Julie Graham, who wrote it, Tamzin Outhwaite and Angela Griffin. Denise has also done online films for the Lighter
Life weight loss programme, of which she is a spokesperson,
and she’s rehearsing a TV role tha at starts filming at the end of Aug gust. Denise has also appeared on Loose
Women, speaking her mind on issues in the news. She says that the presenters’ famous WhatsApp group has been a source of support for them during lockdown.
“When bad news wa as coming out daily, we decided to keep our
WhatsApp group virus- free,f to lift each other up,” expl lains Denise. “Stacey [Solomon] mon] shared the video of her son Rex taking his first steps, and we celebrated Saira’s [Khan] 50th birthday on a Zoom chat. Her husband Steve is a diehard Chelsea fan and so Christine [Lampard] had her husband, [former Chelsea player] Frank come on the chat, and it was like Steve was a ten-year-old boy again. “We’re all friends off screen and have kept each other going. I love doing a show that celebrates older women.”