EXCLUSIVE: Denise Welch has shared the truth behind ongoing claims she and her Loose Women co-stars are often caught up in arguments behind the scenes of the ITV show
Denise Welch has revealed the truth behind claims of a feud on Loose Women. The actress and broadcaster often appears on the ITV1 panel show alongside the likes of co-stars Janet Street-Porter, Jane Moore, Nadia Sawlha, Coleen Nolan, Ruth Langsford and GK Barry.
But each week, the show is plagued by speculation that the women are at loggerheads with one another following disagreements on the panel. The panel are often locked in disagreements on certain topics, with Denise, 66, often furiously defending Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle when the Sussexes are criticised on the show.
Now, the Waterloo Road star has revealed what actually happens behind the scenes and responded to the claims that the panel is at war. "It was incredibly unique and original," she said of the programme, adding: "It's all power to it that 25 years later we're still going. I've been a part of it for about 23 years.
"When it first started, it was never a staple of the daytime schedules like it is now. It was on for three months, off for three months. Then another programme came along and notched it down to half an hour, which the racing still does – but we've got our place."
Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, Denise added: "I'm very proud to be part of it – and not just because it's a female-led show, because our age range ranges from 25 to 85! We've got GK Barry at 25 and Gloria [Hunniford] at 85. What other show not only employs older women reveres and celebrates the voices of older women.
"There's life in these old girls yet. We don't care what Doris from Darlington on Twitter says. We've worn every T-shirt, we've rewashed it and re-ironed it and put it back in the drawer. Older women's voices are so important, and I'm very proud to be a part of a show that continues to celebrate that."
On the programme, Denise and the panel are not afraid to touch on heavy news but always find a balance, later discussing "something light and fluffy." She explained: "There's nothing really that we avoid talking about," adding that the show is different to others as other presenter-led shows see the presenter remaining impartial. Denise used co-star Charlene White as an example, who has to be impartial while presenting on ITV News.
"Our show is anecdotal and opinion-led," she said. When questioned about viewers nitpicking herself and Nadia, Denise joked it is "about us" as they sign up to voice their opinions on the show, but admits it can be "hard" to put themselves out there as they know people will instantly have an opinion.
She added: "Depending on what we are, we are four very opinionated strong women. Just because we disagree, doesn't mean we're in a feud, which drives me mad." Speaking about any type of feud which may have happened over the years, Denise revealed: "I have never and I will honestly say, hand on heart, in 23 years, I have never had an argument with anybody on that show."
"If we didn't have discussions and debate, it would be a very boring show," she explained. Denise added: "There's got to be dissension in the ranks, and sometimes, if there's a topic that I'm not very passionate about, I will often, for the fun of it, play devil's advocate. Because I feel it needs that sometimes needs to spur debates. We all get on absolutely fine, and we all see each other. Some people are closer than others. We all have geographic boundaries as well; we don't all just live in London all of the time. I'm very proud to be a part of it!"
The actress who has also appeared in Coronation Street recently revealed that going sober 13 years ago was the "best decision" she and her husband, Lincoln Townley, had ever made. But after ditching alcohol, which she says was a "momentous point" in their lives, she later realised that she realised she may be swapping alcohol for food addiction due to an "addictive personality". Denise revealed to the Mirror: "I very quickly realised that I was in danger of swapping alcohol addiction for food addiction."
The star went on to say that "all of the bad things" in her life had kept her slim without her trying – including alcohol and depression. "That stops me from eating when I'm having an episode, suddenly, the alcohol and the bad things were taken out of my life, I realised I was starting to replace alcohol with food," she said.
Denise said that she found herself "bingeing" and eating "way past" her full point, but it was never enough. She revealed she had started secretly eating, heading to the kitchen for food, and hiding chocolate. But she later realised that she didn't need to hide it from her family, as her husband, Lincoln and youngest, Hotel Portofino star son, Louis, didn't care.
"Nobody cared – so why am I doing everything so secretly? Guiltily, like I used to drink," she said. After Lincoln proposed to Denise, she realised she had put on two stones in "not a very long time". She explained that while she realised some people often look to lose a significant amount of weight, the two stone to her was a great deal.
Explaining, she said: "It wasn't just how aesthetically it made me look, because I carry a lot of my weight on my face, so it becomes very noticeable. I'm on television several times a week – and that's not a very flattering medium, so I was aware of it there but it was also the fact I've never been super fit but I was aware it was impairing my breathing."
But the realisation hit Denise while she was appearing in a theatre production in Kingston with Keith Allen. Recalling the moment, she said: "I tripped and fell on Kingston Bridge. I went to see this knee doctor and he said, 'You've got osteoarthritis and you need to lose weight'. I thought 'my God, I didn't think I had that much of a problem', the breathing and stuff was due to a sleep apnea problem that wasn't caused by, but isn't helped by, weight gain."
After discussing her plans to lose weight for her wedding, she was "inundated" by diet firms to front their campaigns. But it was a decision she made with Lincoln, who was also keen on losing weight. They decided on LighterLife as it was the only weight loss company which spoke about changing the relationship with food.
The company, for which Denise is an ambassador, uses mental approaches, such as CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy), group therapy or mentorship, and physical approaches. At first, she admits being wary about going to the group therapy as she didn't want "all eyes" to be on her, but it was Lincoln who encouraged her to go along.
"I'm ever so grateful that I did, that first meeting changed my life," she exclaimed. Although she says she would have lost weight in other ways, she admits she may have "piled it back on", due to being a human whose weight fluctuates throughout life. "I always know that I've got the tools, the CBT tools to get me back on board," she said, explaining that there are four processes that she can put in place.
After losing the two stone, Denise used her CBT skills to pack smoking in, something she took up when she was 16. She explained: "By applying the same CBT techniques to cigarettes, and that helped me, come off those as well. So they are treasured tools." Denise has been a LighterLife ambassador for 13 years and still checks in with her doctor, Dr Kelly. "I have seen LighterLife and the mentors not only change people's lives, but people's lives," she explained before adding: "I am a fervent believer that this works."
Although Denise admits she has no medical experience, she believes that LighterLife does work, having seen firsthand how thousands of people have benefited from it. She often carries some of the LighterLife food around with her due to her hectic work schedule, with her favourite being the porridge and salted caramel chocolate bars. "I would say to give it a try and the help of working with these trained mentors who are there for you is life changing, it's an incredible, supportive community," she explained.
Meanwhile, Denise's doctor, Dr Kelly, shed light on the rising topic of diets on social media. She said: "The problem with social media weight loss trends is that often they’re not nutritionally complete, not effective nor sustainable, and often they can be downright dangerous.
"Alongside a nutritious, evidence-based, clinically effective weight loss plan, LighterLife helps you gain the tools required to silence that 'food noise' and successfully manage your weight in the longer term." Dr Kelly went on to explain that LighterLife's diet plan has used an "evidence-based solution", explaining: "Unless you engage with a programme which is designed to support both the physical and the psychological changes needed to help you better manage your weight, which includes diet and tools to address 'food noise' then you are far less likely to be successful."
