Loose Women star Denise Welch has pulled out of a role on the stage following a “bumpy few weeks”.
The actor and broadcaster confirmed in July that she had been cast as Captain Hook for Nottingham Theatre Royal’s production of Peter Pan, with her stint scheduled to begin earlier this month.
However, it was announced just a week before the start date that Welch – who has appeared on Coronation Street and Waterloo Road – had withdrawn from the production due to “ill health”, with Richard Winsor being confirmed as her replacement.
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In a video posted on Instagram Stories on Sunday (December 29), Welch, who was seen alongside her son, 1975 frontman Matty Healy, and his fiancée Gabbriette Bechtel, spoke about her health battle before discussing her Christmas.
“I've had a very bumpy few weeks health wise, which sadly resulted in me having to pull out of my first panto in 12 years. So it was lovely to feel well enough to spend Christmas with my family,” she wrote.
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The star, who first appeared on Loose Women in 2005, recently had a role on ITV soap Emmerdale, with the actor playing a juror during the court trial of Tom King. Appearing across two episodes, Welch recently spoke about her part, describing it as an “honour”.
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“Like many, I've been gripped by the Belle and Tom storyline, so to play a head juror in the story's culmination was an honour,” she said. “Parts of the script were taken from real-life cases, and the charity Refuge were involved in the research.
“My character Heidi was more emotionally involved, so I felt that maybe she had experienced some form of domestic abuse herself. To share the jury scenes with Charlie Dale and Jack Ellis and also to see lots of my Emmerdale mates made it a job to remember.”
Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV1, and streams on ITVX.
Read more Emmerdale spoilers on our dedicated homepage
Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.
