Denise Welch at 60: ‘I’m not having a meltdown’

At 60, Denise Welch shows no signs of slowing down.

The Waterloo Road and Corrie actress is currently rehearsing for a nine-month tour of the musical Calendar Girls, trying to squeeze in appearances on Loose Women and making time to publicise her latest novel, The Mother’s Bond.

“At the moment, my life is absolutely chaotic. I’ve just got so many balls in the air,” she admits. “I’m away from home – I’ve been home once in three weeks and I’m missing it.”

Welch turned 60 in May. For six years, she has lived a much quieter life with her third husband Lincoln Townley, a contemporary artist, than she did when they first met and when they were both drinking heavily and partying hard.

Denise Welch and her husband Lincoln Townley

Life without booze

She has made no secret of her battle with booze and depression and revealed that her life has been completely transformed since she turned teetotal six years ago.

She and Townley gave up drinking at the same time, so while turning 60 was a milestone, it wasn’t as much of a transformation as giving up alcohol, she says.

“Sometimes I feel every year of my 60 years, and other days I don’t at all,” she reflects. “I have a very active, busy life, which in the main, I enjoy. I don’t know what 60 feels like.

“When I see the number 60 written down, I think of my mum and dad’s age. I don’t think it relates to me. I feel better mentally and physically than I have in a long time. I feel more in control. I can cope with things better. I’m not having a meltdown.

“I’ve got a young husband [Townley is 15 years her junior] which always puts a smile on my face. We love our holidays and I’m very lucky to be an in-demand actress, presenter and author.

“A lot of people say they are invisible at 60 and can’t get a job. I’m lucky that I have several.”

Baring all

She has cast off any body issues she may have had in the past and will be baring all alongside Fern Britton and Ruth Madoc in the musical Calendar Girls, which begins a regional tour on August 16. It’s all being done in the most tasteful way and for the sake of comedy, she observes.

“I have lots of strategically placed cakes and buns. We haven’t done it with our clothes off yet as we’re still in rehearsals, but I’m not nervous about that.

“It’s the least of our worries. We’re all of a certain age and too long in the tooth to care. The production’s not for titillation, it’s for comedy.”

Bikini body

Indeed, she has no qualms about her curves these days. After she gave up drinking, Welch says that eating replaced her alcohol addiction and she piled on the pounds.

But after following a weight loss plan involving some cognitive behavioural therapy – she’s an ambassador for LighterLife – she shed two stone and has kept the weight off for five years. She even recently posted pictures of her bikini-clad self on Instagram.

“When I do those photos, I’m basically empowering women. I’m 60 and not bad for an old bird, and other women can do that too. It’s not about standing on a beach going, ‘Hey, look at me! Miss Fabulous!’

“The reaction I get from women who are having a low day or feeling down on themselves is, ‘Today, I saw you and I thought – right – I’m going to pop that bikini on and walk along that beach…’ That’s why I do it.

“I try to build women up. Real queens fix each other’s crowns, they don’t rip them out of their hair.”

No more cosmetic surgery

At 50, she had the bags under her eyes surgically lifted – but she has no plans for further cosmetic enhancements at 60.

“I always said that if something was making me unhappy, then I’d do something about it. And nothing is making me unhappy. I’m in control of how I look, my skin is good. I’m very lucky genetically that my mum had good skin.

“I don’t even have Botox or fillers any more, because I’m seeing too many young women with these fillers and they’re all turning into doppelgangers of Kylie Jenner. Every one of them looks the same.

“I’m seeing older women with fillers – and they look like Clarence the Cross-Eyed Lion. They look weird. I’m just going let my looks be for now. I would never say never about anything, but at the moment, I’ve no plans to do anything.”

Managing depression

Welch says she hasn’t ever felt tempted to return to booze since becoming teetotal and has found ways to manage her depression, admitting she will probably be on anti-depressants for the rest of her life.

“Nothing stops depression. Giving up alcohol won’t cure depression, but it stops compounding it.

“Generally, my episodes are just for about two, three or four days, then it will lift. My depression is endogenous. It’s a hormonal chemical reacting in my body of which I have no control. You’ve just got to learn how to manage it.

“I know I have an unwelcome visitor who will make uninvited calls but he will eventually leave.”

Starting over

There are more books on the cards – she’s planning a non-fiction title to follow her two previous memoirs, Pulling Myself Together and Starting Over.

“Now, I’ve completely started over. The old me is somebody that I look on with sympathy a lot of the time. If I had a pound for everyone who has asked me how I turned my life around in my 50s, I’d be a very rich woman.

“I want to harness that and write about it. The working title for my next book is Staying Sober, Staying Slim, Staying Sane.”

The Mother’s Bond by Denise Welch is published by Sphere on August 9, priced £8.99

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