Denise Welch
Encyclopedia
Jacqueline Denise Healy (née Welch; born 22 May 1958) is an English
actress, dancer and television presenter.
, County Durham
, to father Vin and mother Ann (née Ridley) and has a younger sister Debbie. She attended Bygate School Whitley Bay
, La Sagesse
Roman Catholic School Newcastle upon Tyne
, and from the age of 13 Blackfyne Grammar School Consett
where she passed five GCE
exams. She developed a penchant for acting at the age of 14, after she was cast in a school production of Finian%27s Rainbow. At the age of 17, she contemplated going to a teacher training college in Crewe
, when her father and drama teacher suggested she apply for the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts
in London
. She was successful in her application, and remained at the school from 1976 to 1979, gaining her Equity Card
while teaching dance at Watford
Theatre.
brothers at the Astoria Theatre in 1983, and later joined the Live Theatre Company
, Newcastle
, where she featured in many productions, including There's a Girl in My Soup, and an Alan Ayckbourn
quartet of plays including Bedroom Farce. She also played the role of Sandy in the popular musical Grease
at the Haymarket Theatre, Leicester
, in 1984.
Her first TV appearance was in the Tyne Tees Television
production Barriers
in 1981. A few years later she appeared in ITV's hit drama, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet
(1986), and she followed this with roles in the children's television show Byker Grove
(1990–1991); A Kind of Living (1988); the Catherine Cookson
adaptation The Glass Virgin (1995); and she appeared opposite Jimmy Nail
in BBC's Spender
(1991–1993).
In 1993, Welch became a household name when she was cast as Marsha Stubbs in ITV
's drama series Soldier Soldier
. Due to her success in the series, she released a single in 1995, a double-A side "You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me
/Cry Me a River", which reached #23 and spent three weeks in the UK singles chart
.
Welch gained even wider notoriety in 1997 when she was cast as Natalie Horrocks
(later Barnes) in the longrunning ITV
soap opera
Coronation Street
. The character of Natalie was introduced as the mistress of Kevin Webster
, played by Michael Le Vell
. A popular character, Natalie rose to landlady of the soap's public house "The Rovers Return
. In 2000 the producers in Coronation Street wanted her to perform a storyline involving Natalie having a miscarriage but she refused it saying the character had already lost her husband and son. However Welch, who was expecting a baby the same year, decided to leave the serial in 2000. At the time, Welch commented, "I am looking forward to being a mum again and spending some time with my baby and am relishing the prospect of new challenges in my career." A spokesperson for Granada TV commented "The character [Natalie] will not be killed off and the door will be left open for her possible return. We wish Denise well both for the birth of her baby and for her future career."
In 2002 she guest starred in ITV's Where the Heart Is
and BBC's hospital drama Holby City
, playing risk manager Pam McGrath who conducted an on-screen relationship with the character Mubbs Hussein (played by Ian Aspinall
). She has guest-starred twice in ITV's long-running police drama The Bill
(1997; 2006) and has also appeared in BBC's Doctors
(2004); Down to Earth
(2004–2005); Born and Bred
(2002–2003); starred (second billing) in the British feature film The Jealous God
(2005); and starred in Hollyoaks: In the City
(2006), among others. From 2006 to 2010 she appeared as French teacher Steph Haydock in BBC's successful drama series, Waterloo Road
, In 2011, She played Janet Gold (Goldie) in an episode called "Rogue" of the long time running programme, Casualty
it aired on the 2nd July 2011.
Welch originally won the role as Frances Myers in Bad Girls
, but ended up declining it due to illness at the time; her future Waterloo Road co-star Eva Pope
received the part. Welch decided to leave Waterloo Road and not return for series 6, but she did return for the last two Episodes in Series 6.
Via the BenidormTweets Twitter
feed, it was revealed that Denise will have a part in the upcoming series 4 of Benidorm
She Played the part of 'Scary Mary' alongside her husband Tim Healy.
for ITV2
. Since 2005 she has been a regular panelist on ITV1's topical chat show Loose Women
. In 1999 she appeared as Petula Clark
in ITV's celebrity singing contest Stars in Their Eyes
.
In 2008, Welch appeared on a celebrity version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire along with Falklands War
hero Simon Weston
. In 2009, Welch took over as narrator of the revamped series of 10 Years Younger, for Channel 4
. She also participated in 'Playing the Part', a documentary on BBC One
on 21 May 2009, in which she went back to her old secondary school, Consett Community Sports College, and taught there for a week.
Welch shows her support for the children's charity, Children North East
which is based in Newcastle, by making appearances at events and supporting community based projects. In April 2010, Welch appeared with her husband Tim on ITV
's All Star Mr and Mrs and donated their runner up prize of £5000 to the charity Children North East
. She also appears in the biannual befit concert Sunday for Sammy
, recently parodying the show Loose Women as "Slack Lasses".
Welch guest hosted ITV morning series, Lorraine, in November 2010.
On 9 January 2011, Denise Welch has been participating in the sixth season of Dancing on Ice
with her skating partner, the American professional ice skater, Matt Evers
, who has worked with Zöe Salmon
and Heather Mills in the previous seasons. But on the eighth week of the show, which was broadcast on 6 March 2011, she and Matt were the seventh couple to be voted out of the competition after losing the skate-off to army soldier, Johnson Beharry
.
, from 1985 until their divorce in 1988; Welch has since gone public with her belief that he committed adultery. Welch met her current husband, Tim Healy
, while they were working together for Newcastle's Live Theatre Company
. She married him in Haringey
, London
, in 1988. They have two children, Matthew Timothy (born 1989, Hendon
, London) and Louis Vincent (born 2001, Salford
, Greater Manchester
).
She worked as a waitress with her best friend Jill Hewitson at Pontins.
Welch has suffered from severe depression intermittently throughout her life, which was exacerbated following the birth of her first child. She tried to commit suicide
by attempting to jump out of the window of her flat. Subsequently, she fell into alcoholism
and drug abuse
, although she has since overcome these addictions. She has confessed that she found it difficult to cope with the pressure that came with being in Coronation Street
, once commenting "I don't know how I did that job. I was desperately ill for most of my time in the Street. It got so bad that I started drinking heavily. I thought it would be a quick-fix way of taking away the pain, but it exacerbated the depression. I could easily down a bottle of wine a day. Other days I would binge-drink until I blacked out. I was still taking anti-depressants and the alcohol would cancel these out—so when I did get an attack of depression it was much worse...There were mornings when I can't tell you how hard it was to get up for work, and then, when I was on the set, I felt I couldn't say a line properly. I would watch an episode I'd been in and would hardly remember doing it. But the public never realised."
In a recent interview, she said that she was once drunk and snog
ged a female friend before a royal charity event. She then told her husband Tim Healy just before he met Prince Andrew
. Healy became furious and left immediately after meeting the Prince. It was also revealed that during the filming of Coronation Street, Welch snorted cocaine on set. In addition, Welch smashed Healy's head with a lamp shade after a "drink-fuelled row".
Welch has confessed that her marriage was nearly ruined because of her mental illness
, as well as an affair
she had during the midst of her depression. With the help of her former Coronation Street co-star Kevin 'Curly Watts' Kennedy
(a recovering alcoholic), she attended Alcoholics Anonymous
and successfully put a stop to her dependency on alcohol. She claims that it was the "hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life, but it is also the thing that I'm proudest of. And my mental health is now so much better than it was when I was drinking...I will always have depression—but I'm in control of it now because I've given up drinking".
On 29 April 2010 her 320 Page autobiography 'Pulling Myself Together' was published, in which she described how she overcame her problems with alcohol, drugs and depression. It became a best seller in the UK.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
actress, dancer and television presenter.
Early life
Denise Welch was born in EbchesterEbchester
Ebchester is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated to the north of Consett and to the south east of Whittonstall.The parish church, which is dedicated to St. Ebba is of ambiguous origin, being of partly Norman construction with a foundation, described as being pre-Conquest...
, County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
, to father Vin and mother Ann (née Ridley) and has a younger sister Debbie. She attended Bygate School Whitley Bay
Whitley Bay
Whitley Bay is a town in North Tyneside, in Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the North Sea coast and has a fine stretch of golden sandy beach forming a bay stretching from St. Mary's Island in the north to Cullercoats in the south...
, La Sagesse
La Sagesse
La Sagesse was a Roman Catholic private school in the suburb of Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The school closed in 2008.-History:In 1715, in La Rochelle, France, Marie Louise Trichet co-founded the Filles de la Sagesse which, after a rather rapid expansion, is now 300 years old and...
Roman Catholic School Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
, and from the age of 13 Blackfyne Grammar School Consett
Consett
Consett is a town in the northwest of County Durham, England, about southwest of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is home to 27,394 .Consett sits high on the edge of the Pennines. In 1841, it was a village community of only 145, but it was about to become a boom town: below the ground was coking coal and...
where she passed five GCE
General Certificate of Education
The General Certificate of Education or GCE is an academic qualification that examination boards in the United Kingdom and a few of the Commonwealth countries, notably Sri Lanka, confer to students. The GCE traditionally comprised two levels: the Ordinary Level and the Advanced Level...
exams. She developed a penchant for acting at the age of 14, after she was cast in a school production of Finian%27s Rainbow. At the age of 17, she contemplated going to a teacher training college in Crewe
Crewe
Crewe is a railway town within the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the urban area had a population of 67,683...
, when her father and drama teacher suggested she apply for the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts
Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts
Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts is an independent drama school situated in the Wood Green area of North London. It was founded in 1945 by Peter Coxhead and Ralph Nossek as 'The Mountview Theatre Club', an amateur repertory company staging a new production for a six-day run every second week...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. She was successful in her application, and remained at the school from 1976 to 1979, gaining her Equity Card
Equity Card
An Equity Card is proof of membership in an organization of stage actors such as the Actors' Equity Association of the United States or the British Equity...
while teaching dance at Watford
Watford
Watford is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south by the urbanised parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District.Watford was created as an urban...
Theatre.
Acting
Welch became an actress straight after leaving school. She performed on stage in London in Yakkety-Yak with the McGannPaul McGann
Paul McGann is an English actor who made his name on the BBC serial The Monocled Mutineer, in which he played the lead role...
brothers at the Astoria Theatre in 1983, and later joined the Live Theatre Company
Live Theatre Company
The Live Theatre Company is a theatre and company based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The company aims to attract new audiences for its accessible work as well as its friendly and informal theatre space....
, Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
, where she featured in many productions, including There's a Girl in My Soup, and an Alan Ayckbourn
Alan Ayckbourn
Sir Alan Ayckbourn CBE is a prolific English playwright. He has written and produced seventy-three full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director of the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, where all but four of his plays have received their...
quartet of plays including Bedroom Farce. She also played the role of Sandy in the popular musical Grease
Grease (musical)
Grease is a 1971 musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The musical is named for the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as the greasers. The musical, set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School , follows ten working-class teenagers as they navigate the complexities of love,...
at the Haymarket Theatre, Leicester
Haymarket Theatre (Leicester)
The Haymarket Theatre was a theatre in Leicester, England, based in the Haymarket Shopping Centre on Belgrave Gate in Leicester city centre. The theatre closed at the end of 2006 and has been replaced by the Curve Theatre...
, in 1984.
Her first TV appearance was in the Tyne Tees Television
Tyne Tees Television
Tyne Tees Television is the ITV television franchise for North East England and parts of North Yorkshire. As of 2009, it forms part of a non-franchise ITV Tyne Tees & Border region, shared with the ITV Border region...
production Barriers
Barriers
Barriers is a British children's television series, created and written by William Corlett, and made by Tyne Tees Television for ITV between 1981 and 1982....
in 1981. A few years later she appeared in ITV's hit drama, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet
Auf Wiedersehen, Pet
Auf Wiedersehen, Pet is a British comedy-drama television programme about seven English migrant construction workers. In the first series, the men live and work on a building site in Düsseldorf....
(1986), and she followed this with roles in the children's television show Byker Grove
Byker Grove
Byker Grove was a British television series which aired between 1989 and 2006 and was created by Adele Rose. The show was broadcast at 5.10pm after Newsround on CBBC on BBC One...
(1990–1991); A Kind of Living (1988); the Catherine Cookson
Catherine Cookson
Dame Catherine Cookson DBE was a British author. She became the United Kingdom's most widely read novelist, with sales topping 100 million, while retaining a relatively low profile in the world of celebrity writers...
adaptation The Glass Virgin (1995); and she appeared opposite Jimmy Nail
Jimmy Nail
James Bradford "Jimmy" Nail is an English singer-songwriter, actor, musician, film producer, film score composer and television writer....
in BBC's Spender
Spender
Spender is a BBC television drama set in Newcastle upon Tyne, written by Ian La Frenais and Jimmy Nail, who also starred. The series was produced by Martin McKeand . The series was broadcast on BBC between 1991 and 1993...
(1991–1993).
In 1993, Welch became a household name when she was cast as Marsha Stubbs in ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's drama series Soldier Soldier
Soldier Soldier
Soldier Soldier is a British television drama series. The title comes from a traditional song of the same name.Produced by Central Television and broadcast on the ITV network, it ran for a total of seven series and 82 episodes from 1991 to 1997...
. Due to her success in the series, she released a single in 1995, a double-A side "You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me
You Don't Have to Say You Love Me
"You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" is the title of a 1966 hit recorded by British singer Dusty Springfield which proved to be her career record reaching #1 UK and #4 US: the song subsequently charted in the UK via remakes by Elvis Presley , Guys 'n' Dolls and Denise Welch with Presley's version...
/Cry Me a River", which reached #23 and spent three weeks in the UK singles chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
.
Welch gained even wider notoriety in 1997 when she was cast as Natalie Horrocks
Natalie Barnes
Natalie Felicity Barnes is played by Denise Welch. She appears from 26 February 1997 until 31 December 2000.-1997–2000:...
(later Barnes) in the longrunning ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
. The character of Natalie was introduced as the mistress of Kevin Webster
Kevin Webster
Kevin John Webster is a long-standing fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. Portrayed by actor Michael Le Vell, the character first appeared onscreen on 19 October 1983...
, played by Michael Le Vell
Michael Le Vell
Michael Le Vell is an English character actor, who since 1983 has played the role of garage mechanic, Kevin Webster, in the soap opera Coronation Street....
. A popular character, Natalie rose to landlady of the soap's public house "The Rovers Return
Rovers Return Inn
The Rovers Return Inn is a fictional public house on the long-running British soap opera Coronation Street. The Rovers Return occupies the corner of Coronation Street and Rosamund Street. Since the first episode it has been the principal setting in the show and many of its most memorable moments...
. In 2000 the producers in Coronation Street wanted her to perform a storyline involving Natalie having a miscarriage but she refused it saying the character had already lost her husband and son. However Welch, who was expecting a baby the same year, decided to leave the serial in 2000. At the time, Welch commented, "I am looking forward to being a mum again and spending some time with my baby and am relishing the prospect of new challenges in my career." A spokesperson for Granada TV commented "The character [Natalie] will not be killed off and the door will be left open for her possible return. We wish Denise well both for the birth of her baby and for her future career."
In 2002 she guest starred in ITV's Where the Heart Is
Where the Heart Is (1997 TV series)
Where the Heart Is is a British television drama series set in the fictional town Skelthwaite.First shown in 1997, it was created by Ashley Pharoah and Vicky Featherstone...
and BBC's hospital drama Holby City
Holby City
Holby City, stylised as Holby Ci+y, is a British medical drama television series that airs weekly on BBC One.The series was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama Casualty, and premiered on 12 January 1999...
, playing risk manager Pam McGrath who conducted an on-screen relationship with the character Mubbs Hussein (played by Ian Aspinall
Ian Aspinall
Ian Aspinall is a British actor who is well known for his role on Holby City where he played Mubbs Hussein from 2001 to 2005. He has been in City Central, The Bill, Silent Witness, Peak Practice, and Casualty. He also had a role in East is East playing eldest son Nazir Khan...
). She has guest-starred twice in ITV's long-running police drama The Bill
The Bill
The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
(1997; 2006) and has also appeared in BBC's Doctors
Doctors (BBC Soap Opera)
Doctors is a British daytime television soap opera, set in the fictional Midland town of Letherbridge, defined as being close to the City of Birmingham. It was created by Chris Murray; Mal Young drove its development, and Carson Black was the original producer. The first episode was broadcast on...
(2004); Down to Earth
Down to Earth (UK TV series)
Down to Earth was a BBC One television series first broadcast in 2000 about a couple who start a new life on a Devon farm. The early episodes of the series were based on a series of books written by Faith Addis about their real-life move from London to Devon.The music in the series was composed by...
(2004–2005); Born and Bred
Born and Bred
Born and Bred is a light-hearted British drama series that aired on BBC One from 2002 to 2005. Created by Chris Chibnall and Nigel McCrery, Born and Breds cast was led by James Bolam and Michael French, who play a father and son who run a cottage hospital in Ormston, a fictional Lancashire village...
(2002–2003); starred (second billing) in the British feature film The Jealous God
The Jealous God
The Jealous God is a novel by John Braine which was first published in 1964. Set in the early 1960s among the Irish Catholic community in a small Yorkshire town, the book is about a 30 year-old mummy's boy and his attempts at liberating himself from his domineering mother...
(2005); and starred in Hollyoaks: In the City
Hollyoaks: In the City
Hollyoaks: In the City was a British television drama series set in Liverpool and first broadcast in 2006. Hollyoaks: In the City was a spin-off of Channel 4 soap opera, Hollyoaks, originally devised by Phil Redmond...
(2006), among others. From 2006 to 2010 she appeared as French teacher Steph Haydock in BBC's successful drama series, Waterloo Road
Waterloo Road (TV series)
Waterloo Road is an award-winning British television drama series, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 9 March 2006. Set in a troubled comprehensive school in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, the series focuses on the lives of the school's teacher and students, and confronts social...
, In 2011, She played Janet Gold (Goldie) in an episode called "Rogue" of the long time running programme, Casualty
Casualty (TV series)
Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...
it aired on the 2nd July 2011.
Welch originally won the role as Frances Myers in Bad Girls
Bad Girls (TV series)
Bad Girls is an award-winning British television drama series that was broadcast on ITV from 1999 to 2006. It is produced by Shed Productions, the company which later produced Footballers' Wives and Waterloo Road...
, but ended up declining it due to illness at the time; her future Waterloo Road co-star Eva Pope
Eva Pope
Eva Pope is an English actress. She trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art.- Career :Her first major role was playing Tanya Pooley in ITV soap-opera Coronation Street from 1993 to 1994...
received the part. Welch decided to leave Waterloo Road and not return for series 6, but she did return for the last two Episodes in Series 6.
Via the BenidormTweets Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
feed, it was revealed that Denise will have a part in the upcoming series 4 of Benidorm
Benidorm (TV series)
Benidorm is an award-winning British television comedy-drama that is produced by Tiger Aspect for ITV and written by Derren Litten, co-writer of The Catherine Tate Show, exploiting the working-class stereotype of this popular tourist destination....
She Played the part of 'Scary Mary' alongside her husband Tim Healy.
Presenting and personal appearances
Welch has presented numerous television shows and also appeared in a series of SCS adverts promoting soft furnishings. She hosted her own DIY series The Real DIY show in 2000 and Soap FeverSoap Fever
Soap Fever is a British television Entertainment programme on ITV2 presented by Liza Tarbuck, Denise Welch, Emma Kennedy, Jenny Powell and towards the end of its run Fiona Phillips and Penny Smith....
for ITV2
ITV2
ITV2 is a 24 hour, free-to-air entertainment television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998, and is available on digital television via satellite, cable, IPTV and terrestrial platforms. The channel has the...
. Since 2005 she has been a regular panelist on ITV1's topical chat show Loose Women
Loose Women
Loose Women is a British lunchtime television programme, first broadcast in 1999 on ITV. It consists of a panel of four women who interview celebrities and discuss topical issues, ranging from daily politics and current affairs, to celebrity gossip...
. In 1999 she appeared as Petula Clark
Petula Clark
Petula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II...
in ITV's celebrity singing contest Stars in Their Eyes
Stars In Their Eyes
Stars in Their Eyes is a British television talent show that ran on Saturdays nights from 21 July 1990 until 23 December 2006 in which contestants impersonate showbiz stars...
.
In 2008, Welch appeared on a celebrity version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire along with Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
hero Simon Weston
Simon Weston
Simon Weston OBE is a former British Army soldier who became well known throughout the United Kingdom for his recovery and charity work after suffering severe burn injuries during the Falklands War.-Early life:...
. In 2009, Welch took over as narrator of the revamped series of 10 Years Younger, for Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
. She also participated in 'Playing the Part', a documentary on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
on 21 May 2009, in which she went back to her old secondary school, Consett Community Sports College, and taught there for a week.
Welch shows her support for the children's charity, Children North East
Children North East
Children North East is a registered charity based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The focus of the charity is to provide help and funding, through community based projects, to families, children and young people in the region who are experiencing a range of problems and difficulties in their lives...
which is based in Newcastle, by making appearances at events and supporting community based projects. In April 2010, Welch appeared with her husband Tim on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's All Star Mr and Mrs and donated their runner up prize of £5000 to the charity Children North East
Children North East
Children North East is a registered charity based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The focus of the charity is to provide help and funding, through community based projects, to families, children and young people in the region who are experiencing a range of problems and difficulties in their lives...
. She also appears in the biannual befit concert Sunday for Sammy
Sunday for Sammy
Sunday for Sammy is a series of biannual charity concerts held in aid of the Sammy Johnson Memorial Fund, which benefits young performers. The concerts have been held at Newcastle City Hall, with the exception of 2006, when the show has hosted at The Sage Gateshead...
, recently parodying the show Loose Women as "Slack Lasses".
Welch guest hosted ITV morning series, Lorraine, in November 2010.
On 9 January 2011, Denise Welch has been participating in the sixth season of Dancing on Ice
Dancing on Ice
Dancing on Ice is a British television show co-hosted by Christine Bleakley and Philip Schofield, in which celebrities and their professional partners figure skate in front of a panel of judges. The format, devised by LWT and Granada Television, has been a prime-time hit in eight different...
with her skating partner, the American professional ice skater, Matt Evers
Matt Evers
Matt Evers is an American pair skater, model and TV personality.-Career:With his partner Heather Allebach, Evers won the Junior pairs title at the 1998 U.S. Championships. Evers is currently training as a professional actor, model and spokesperson for U.S...
, who has worked with Zöe Salmon
Zöe Salmon
Zöe Salmon is a television presenter who hosted the children's television show Blue Peter from 23 December 2004 to 25 June 2008. She also appeared on Dancing on Ice in early 2009.-Life and career:...
and Heather Mills in the previous seasons. But on the eighth week of the show, which was broadcast on 6 March 2011, she and Matt were the seventh couple to be voted out of the competition after losing the skate-off to army soldier, Johnson Beharry
Johnson Beharry
Lance Corporal Johnson Gideon Beharry VC of the 1st Battalion, Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, is a British Army soldier who, on 18 March 2005, was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest military decoration for valour in the British and Commonwealth armed forces, for twice saving members of...
.
Personal life
Welch's previous marriage was to actor David EasterDavid Easter
David Easter is an English actor.He is best known for his role as Pete Callan in the television soap opera Family Affairs from 1997 to 2005. He had previously been a regular cast member on Brookside, playing Pat Hancock from 1984 to 1987...
, from 1985 until their divorce in 1988; Welch has since gone public with her belief that he committed adultery. Welch met her current husband, Tim Healy
Tim Healy (actor)
Timothy Malcolm Healy is an English actor. He is best known for playing Dennis Patterson in the television series Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. He is married to the actress Denise Welch.-Career:...
, while they were working together for Newcastle's Live Theatre Company
Live Theatre Company
The Live Theatre Company is a theatre and company based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The company aims to attract new audiences for its accessible work as well as its friendly and informal theatre space....
. She married him in Haringey
London Borough of Haringey
The London Borough of Haringey is a London borough, in North London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner London, and by others as part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 by the amalgamation of three former boroughs. It shares borders with six other London boroughs...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, in 1988. They have two children, Matthew Timothy (born 1989, Hendon
Hendon
Hendon is a London suburb situated northwest of Charing Cross.-History:Hendon was historically a civil parish in the county of Middlesex. The manor is described in Domesday , but the name, 'Hendun' meaning 'at the highest hill', is earlier...
, London) and Louis Vincent (born 2001, Salford
City of Salford
The City of Salford is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It is named after its largest settlement, Salford, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Eccles, Swinton-Pendlebury, Walkden and Irlam which apart from Irlam each have a population of over...
, Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
).
She worked as a waitress with her best friend Jill Hewitson at Pontins.
Welch has suffered from severe depression intermittently throughout her life, which was exacerbated following the birth of her first child. She tried to commit suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
by attempting to jump out of the window of her flat. Subsequently, she fell into alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
and drug abuse
Drug abuse
Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, refers to a maladaptive pattern of use of a substance that is not considered dependent. The term "drug abuse" does not exclude dependency, but is otherwise used in a similar manner in nonmedical contexts...
, although she has since overcome these addictions. She has confessed that she found it difficult to cope with the pressure that came with being in Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
, once commenting "I don't know how I did that job. I was desperately ill for most of my time in the Street. It got so bad that I started drinking heavily. I thought it would be a quick-fix way of taking away the pain, but it exacerbated the depression. I could easily down a bottle of wine a day. Other days I would binge-drink until I blacked out. I was still taking anti-depressants and the alcohol would cancel these out—so when I did get an attack of depression it was much worse...There were mornings when I can't tell you how hard it was to get up for work, and then, when I was on the set, I felt I couldn't say a line properly. I would watch an episode I'd been in and would hardly remember doing it. But the public never realised."
In a recent interview, she said that she was once drunk and snog
Snog
Snog is a band formed by Australian musician David Thrussell, along with fellow art school friends, Tim McGrath and Julia Bourke, in 1989. The band's music is a fusion of many different styles, including industrial, techno, ambient, experimental, funk and even some of the social commentary of...
ged a female friend before a royal charity event. She then told her husband Tim Healy just before he met Prince Andrew
Prince Andrew, Duke of York
Prince Andrew, Duke of York KG GCVO , is the second son, and third child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
. Healy became furious and left immediately after meeting the Prince. It was also revealed that during the filming of Coronation Street, Welch snorted cocaine on set. In addition, Welch smashed Healy's head with a lamp shade after a "drink-fuelled row".
Welch has confessed that her marriage was nearly ruined because of her mental illness
Mental illness
A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of normal development or culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural,...
, as well as an affair
Affair
Affair may refer to professional, personal, or public business matters or to a particular business or private activity of a temporary duration, as in family affair, a private affair, or a romantic affair.-Political affair:...
she had during the midst of her depression. With the help of her former Coronation Street co-star Kevin 'Curly Watts' Kennedy
Kevin Kennedy (actor)
Kevin Kennedy is an English actor, writer, producer, singer, and guitarist, best known for playing the bottle-lensed Curly Watts in ITV's long running soap opera Coronation Street between 1983 and 2003.-Early life:Kennedy was born in Manchester. He attended St Paul's RC Secondary High School...
(a recovering alcoholic), she attended Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
and successfully put a stop to her dependency on alcohol. She claims that it was the "hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life, but it is also the thing that I'm proudest of. And my mental health is now so much better than it was when I was drinking...I will always have depression—but I'm in control of it now because I've given up drinking".
On 29 April 2010 her 320 Page autobiography 'Pulling Myself Together' was published, in which she described how she overcame her problems with alcohol, drugs and depression. It became a best seller in the UK.