TV favourite Denise Welch on romance, and why she’s determined to spoil her first grandson rotten
She turns 66 this year, but Denise Welch is far from slowing down. In fact, the actress and Loose Women star is throwing herself back into theatre. She also has a new arrival to keep her on her toes, courtesy of husband Lincoln Townley’s son Lewis. He welcomed little Theo into the world ten months ago, and Denise is relishing her new role as Nana. Here she opens up about love, marriage and striving for the perfect work life balance.
You’re soon set to star in The Gap with Matthew Kelly. What keeps you coming back to the stage?
You have to stay relevant in your 60s, so I’m very fortunate my real job is I’m a theatre actress. That’s what I’m trained to do, but it’s very time consuming and it’s not very well paid, so you have to pick and choose when you do it. It’s also very nerve-wracking and I’m very nervous about doing The Gap! But I’m very flattered, because Jim Cartwright is one of my favourite contemporary playwrights. And I think Matthew Kelly is a phenomenal actor. So, I feel that the groundwork is done. It’s just now for us to deliver!
You also starred as Queen Elizabeth II recently in a one-off performance of Diana the Musical. Did you ever meet her?
I never met the Queen, but I’ve met Charles on more than one occasion. He was very nice. He came to Coronation Street when I was in it and there’s a very famous photo of me serving him a drink at The Rover’s Return. Sarah Ferguson, who I’m very fond of, was a guest presenter on Loose Women just the other week. She’s very nice.
Last year your life changed when your stepson Lewis and his partner Lizzie had baby Theo. Congratulations!
We are absolutely obsessed. Lincoln’s never been especially good with babies, but he is literally putty in Theo’s hands. He’s changed our lives for the better and we absolutely adore him.
Do you spoil Theo?
Completely. I am fun Nana. It’s difficult because when you’ve got blended families, you have to share him, so we’re Nana and Granddad, then Lizzie’s parents are Grandma and Granddad, and then Lewis’ mum [Lincoln’s ex-wife Bev] is Nanny. You’ve got to fight for a piece of him. We will totally do everything you say you shouldn't do. We will totally spoil him. We will buy him loud toys that will drive his parents mad, we will give him absolutely everything he asks for without a shadow of a doubt.
You and Lincoln (51) celebrated your ten-year wedding anniversary in the summer. Did you do anything special?
We went back to the hotel in Nice where Lincoln proposed. He organised it, and it was just lovely to go back to where it all started. We also used it as an opportunity to go and see Carol McGiffin and
