Denise Welch is a beloved TV legend – but behind the scenes, she has faced her fair share of challenges.
Since shooting to fame in the 1990s, Denise, 66, has been a staple on screens. From stints on Coronation Street to Loose Women, she has remained booked and busy.
However, over the years, Denise has been candid about her struggles with depression and addiction. This week, she shared that “the unwelcome visitor” – Denise’s nickname for her depression – had returned while on holiday.
Here, ED is taking a look at the struggles Denise Welch has bravely overcome.
Denise Welch on her lowest moment
Denise has been open about how, throughout her life, she has suffered with clinical depression.
This led to the actress turning to drugs and alcohol, in a bid to escape it. However, this inevitably made things worse and, 13 years ago, she made the decision to go completely sober.
In her 2020 memoir, The Unwelcome Visitor, Denise recalled one of her lowest moments that took place while filming ITV’s Stars in Their Eyes programme in 1999.
Before taking to the stage as singer Petula Clark Denise was “crawling around and banging my head on the floor, trying desperately to deaden the pain within”.
Meanwhile, in 2024, she reflected on drunken nights out that, in hindsight, make her “feel sick”.
In a candid Instagram post, Denise told her followers: “I got to the point where my memories of these ‘fabulous’ nights out weren’t what I remember, because I couldn’t remember.
“I just remember how those nights made me feel and the thought of it makes me feel sick.”
Denise Welch on cocaine use
As well as alcohol, Denise also previously revealed she used to take cocaine, which left the TV presenter living in “hell”.
On the Open podcast in 2023, Denise shared she started taking cocaine in her late thirties while working on Coronation Street in the late 1990s.
“I was dealing with 12-to-14 hour schedules whilst suffering the most crippling depression and basically that was my descent into alcoholism and the drug use happened,” Denise said.
She also said: “I did cocaine and it made me feel normal for two hours and that was the descent into that world and then it became hell.”
Denise prayed for plane she was travelling on to crash
Denise also previously shared that the unwelcome visitor returned after giving birth to her first son, Matty Healy in 1989.
At the height of her depression, she prayed for the plane she was travelling on with son Matty to crash.
On the Zombiemum podcast in 2021, Denise said: “The night before I went, this massive depression came on. I cannot tell you what it was like to go to the airport and get on that plane with this depression.
“When I was in the air – I told Matthew this years later when he was a grown up, I would never have put this on any child – I wished that the plane would go down in my mind.”
“I wished that it would, because then I wouldn’t have made the decision. And people might go: ‘There was other people on the plane, how selfish,’ – of course.
“It was the point that I wanted something out of my control and I thought, why doesn’t it just go down and then I will be out of this pain. Now I can’t believe I had those thoughts.”
In Denise’s 2022 memoir, she also explained her depression “drains the colour from my life” and makes her “avoid everybody”.
She candidly shared: “Sometimes he knocks at the door, turns around and leaves. Sometimes he will stay a few days but sometimes he will be here a year and I hate him for the pain he causes.”
Denise celebrates sobriety
In April 2025, Denise celebrated 13 years of being sober, after her struggle with alcohol addiction and depression.
In a candid Instagram post, she recalled details of her final “shameful” alcohol binge.
“13 years ago today I had my last alcoholic drink. I had woken up, as often happened, with no memory of the night before,” Denise said.
The soap star added: “I was in the middle of a huge theatre tour and was faced with the thought of a long car journey to Richmond and two shows!! Then I looked around and realised that my husband, then boyfriend, was watching me and he threw a newspaper on the bed.”
“It was me. Papped. Leaning over the bonnet of a car shouting at someone and pointing. No recollection. The bathroom door of his flat had been pulled of its hinges and a lamp lay on the floor.”
Denise went on: “Lincoln [Denise’s husband] had stopped drinking two months before. I had told him I didn’t have as big of a problem. I did. A huge one. He told me he loved me but he couldn’t live like this.”
“The thought of losing him terrified me. I was depressed, anxious, scared, embarrassed, appalled at my behaviour and full of shame.I gave up drinking that night. It is the best decision I have ever made.
“Not just because I now have an amazing marriage to the love of my life, but because our three children [the artist also has a son from a previous relationship] can live their lives knowing that we’re safe and happy. Their lives aren’t led never knowing what or where we’ll end up.”
‘I’m grateful for every day I wake up sober’
Her post went on: “My husband is now a successful international artist and I’m still working on television and on stage. The ripple effect on our families is what I’m most proud of. The look of love and respect from those who love us is something I cherish every day.
“If alcohol is making you and the people you love unhappy it’s time to stop. There is help and support out there. I still suffer from episodes of clinical depression but they are not compounded by alcohol and drugs so my recovery is quicker.”
She finished off her post by saying: “I self medicated my illness for many years and became an alcoholic. I’m grateful for every day I wake up sober and I regained the respect I had lost. My children are proud of me and that’s the greatest gift of all. Thank you to @lincolntownley for being by my side every step of the way.”
Denise’s ‘unwelcome visitor’ returns
More recently, Denise revealed a relapse in her battle with depression while on holiday in Los Angeles, to celebrate her eldest son Matty Healy’s engagement.
“The second half, when the sun came out, was absolutely gorgeous,” Denise began.
“But the first half, sadly, was blighted by a return of my unwelcome visitor. After five years clear of that illness and not having any symptoms, I had a breakdown before Christmas, which I talked about. I had to pull out of the pantomime. It was only the second time I’ve ever had to do that in my career.
She added: “Then I was well, and I went off to LA excited. Two days in, I went to a market to meet a friend. I was paying for a little trinket… and suddenly I got the panic and the tingling in my palms and the metallic taste in my mouth. Within a minute, the depression was on me. That’s how mine comes on.”
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