Loose Women’s Denise' Welch 'throwing up' in secret struggle amid depression battle - 'It's plagued my life'

She’s a much-loved Loose Women panellist, a mental health advocate and an acclaimed actress, but Denise Welch has, often very publicly, fought many battles in life — from her struggles with depression, to her addiction to alcohol, one which, thankfully, she won many years ago alongside her husband, artist Lincoln Townley.

However, another that Denise has not spoken at length about is her secret struggle with numbers — which led to her getting into hot water financially. But now, as an ambassador for National Numeracy, Denise is getting on top of it, and sharing her story in the process. And she wants people to know two things, she says. If you’re struggling, it doesn’t make you “thick” — and secondly, help is at hand.

The straight-talking star, 66, who with her ex-husband, fellow actor Tim Healy, shares sons, Louis, 23, an actor, and The 1975 frontman Matty, 35, is nothing if not brutally honest. Happily, she tells us, she’s in a great place right now, in her career and personal life. Having struggled with her mental health over the years, culminating in a breakdown in 2019, she’s never felt better.

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“If I could bottle how I’m feeling right now, I’d be a billionaire,” she laughs, chatting to us from her Loose Women dressing room at ITV. “I always knew the origin of my illness was hormonal, probably triggered by childbirth — it took 20 years to get anyone to accept that. I’ve been shouting from the rooftops about our mental health since 1991.

“In 2019, I had what we used to call a ‘breakdown’ — I get tingling in my hands, the colour drains from my life, I can feel it coming on. And I decided for the first time to chronicle that episode, in real time. I did just that for three days and when I came out of bed days later, it had gone viral. I’d even been on News At 10. It resonated.”

That episode spawned Denise’s book, The Unwelcome Visitor, and since then, she explains, something has just “shifted”, which she suspects is linked to being post-menopausal. “I haven’t had an episode since. I’ll never, ever say it’s ‘gone’. All I know is for the first time in 35 years, I don’t wake up frightened of my illness. Something righted itself. I don’t wake up with a subconscious dread, the constant narrative, ‘Do I feel OK? S**t, it’s dark today, how’s that going to affect me…’ That’s gone.”

Denise is also clearly besotted with her husband of 11 years, Lincoln. Admitting that it sounds “corny”, the 51-year-old, she says, is the “bedrock” of her life. “I feel so fortunate to have met him later in life. He’s my best friend, we make each other laugh and we have each other’s backs. The only thing I can thank alcohol for is that we met each other in a club late at night.

"We overcame all the negative press we got, the loss of my mother early on in our relationship could have set me back drinking again, but with the strength of Lincoln it didn’t. We live a life we love. Life is good. I’m filming two new TV shows at the minute. I have a beautiful family, including my grandson. Lincoln and I are each other’s anchors.”

Speaking of her boys, who have both followed their parents into show business, Denise is bursting with pride that Louis is about to take over the lead in the Stranger Things play in the West End. Matty, now a global star as singer of The 1975, is currently writing his sixth album. “Yes, Matty’s taking his foot off the gas of touring for a couple of years,” she says. “He’s based in LA, which is great as we love LA.”

And what of life as a “nanna”? [Lincoln’s son Lewis, from a previous relationship, and Lewis’s wife Lizzie had baby Theo last March.] Denise’s eyes light up instantly, as she explains, “Theo is just this joyful child who we are totally besotted with. You don’t expect the outpouring of love you’ll feel for a grandchild. This tiny little dot who’s only been around for a year has changed our lives and I’ve never seen anything like how Lincoln is with him. When you’re a blended family, you have to share the little one out quite a lot, so it’s like, ‘We’ll have him!’”

When she’s not getting misty-eyed over her grandson, Denise is still acting and offering up her forthright opinions on Loose Women. What keeps her coming back after all these years? They love and respect her on the show, says Denise. She also feels like she’s done a lot of growing up on-air. “ Loose Women has honestly seen me through the good, the bad and the very ugly, and now the good again. I’m very grateful for the platform it’s given me. Not many older women have a voice — this is one of the only shows in the country which reveres them. We have women from 24 to 84 — where else do you get that range of opinion and life experience?”

As well as working on two top-secret TV projects, former Corrie star Denise has also been announced as the new ambassador for National Numeracy — and it’s a cause close to her heart, as she’s struggled with numbers all her life. The charity approached Denise after seeing her discuss the topic on Loose Women .

“I’m no authority, but I just share my own experience,” she says. “I’ve always been terrified of maths and numbers. It’s plagued my life, my normal life. It renders me fearful to this day and got me into very sticky situations with money. I feel very strongly about National Numeracy trying to take the ‘fear’ out of maths, so if I can help by sharing my story, I will.”

Denise’s troubles began in the classroom. A “speed reading champion” with a love of English as a kid, maths terrified her. When she saw double maths on her syllabus, she says, she would “go and vomit in the toilets, just at the thought of it”. She also had an unkind teacher, who, according to Denise, would “prey on those who were vulnerable”.

“I hated it. For my dad, numbers came easy, so he wasn’t forceful, but I remember him saying, ‘Denise, if X equals Z, how can you not see?’ It was like someone speaking in a foreign language. But you just didn’t talk about these things in those days. I lost a lovely job at a pub aged 18 because we had to do mental maths. They loved me, but it took me so long at the till, so they had to fire me.”

As she got older and entered the world of showbiz, Denise would only appear on quiz shows where she wouldn’t be asked anything mathematical. And her fear of numbers began impacting her life. “There were mortgages, taxes, bills. I got myself into trouble early in my career, by putting my head in the sand.”

She admits, she’s lucky in that Lincoln is very good in that area — but admits she’s felt embarrassment over the situation before but insists there’s help out there for people struggling, like she has. “Contact National Numeracy and they’ll help you with basic skills,” she says. “Don’t be ashamed if you’re no good with numbers, because believe me, it ain’t just you! And it doesn’t mean you’re not incredibly clever, which is what I used to think. Ask for help, because those bills won’t go away, they’ll just pile up.”

With a thriving career and a fulfilling family life, Denise has now finally got a handle on the “elephant in the room” — something which was always a source of shame for her. “I’m happy. Life is good!” she says, smiling. “Isn’t that all anyone can ask for?”

Denise Welch is an ambassador for the charity National Numeracy. If you’d like to start improving your own numeracy, visit nationalnumeracy.org.uk