DENISE ‘THE GIRLS ARE KEEPING ME GOING’

Denise Welch has revealed it’s her fellow LW ladies who have been providing some vital support during these “frightening” times. And in an attempt to keep spirits up, the 61-year-old said they’ve banned “bad news” in their group chat.

“We have a Whatsapp group and that is keeping me going,” explained Denise, who has been open about her ongoing battle with depression. “We’re just trying to make each other laugh. We speak every day.”

The ex-corrie actress also set the record straight on rumours the women are at loggerheads when the cameras aren’t on.

“We’ve had our moments over the years, but we genuinely are great friends,” Denise said. “We are not this backstabbing bunch behind the scenes, or else I certainly wouldn’t be able to work with them.”

But even with such a good support system around her, which includes artist hubby Lincoln Townley and her sons, 1975 singer Matt Healy, 30, and actor Louis Healy, 19, Denise still has bad days.

“I was cooking tea the other day. A song came on the radio and I just burst into tears. I was crying uncontrollably for about an hour,” she said last week.

However, Den is hoping her new book, The Unwelcome Visitor, which she’s called a “chronicle of living with depression and anxiety”, will help those suffering with mental health issues during the current crisis. “Obviously at the time of writing I had no idea we were going to be thrown in this global nightmare. The book will, hopefully, be a help to those who’ve understood depression before and help those who haven’t understand it.”