Denise Welch reveals stepson Lewis Townley is expecting his first child

Denise Welch has congratulated stepson Lewis Townley and wife Elizabeth after the couple confirmed they are expecting their first child.

Loose Women panelist Welch shared the news with Instagram followers Friday morning as he posted a 12-week ultrasound of the unborn child.

She captioned the image: ‘Congratulations @lewtownley and @elizabeth_townley_cope on your first baby. We are excited.’

Happy news: Denise Welch has congratulated stepson Lewis Townley and wife Elizabeth after the couple confirmed they are expecting their first child

The couple, who only celebrated their first wedding anniversary on August 13, previously announced that the baby is expected on March 22.

Townley is Welch’s stepson through her marriage to his father, the multi-millionaire abstract painter Lincoln Townley, with whom she exchanged vows in 2013.

The actress is also a parent to sons Matty, 33, and Louis, 21, through her former marriage to actor Tim Healy, best known for his role as Geordie mason Dennis Patterson in the 1980s drama Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.

Delighted: Loose Women panelist Welch shared the news with Instagram followers Friday morning as he posted a 12-week ultrasound of the unborn child

Matty has since achieved worldwide fame as the lead singer and guitarist for indie pop band The 1975, having formed the group as a teenager with school friends George Daniel, Adam Hann and Ross McDonald.

Welch previously admitted to writing the ballad She Lays Down — the final track on his band’s second album, I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It — about her crippling depression.

Speaking on ITV’s Loose Women, the presenter said she once told Matty that her depression left an emotional void that affected her relationship with her loved ones.

Family: The couple, who did not celebrate their first wedding anniversary until August 13, previously announced that the baby is expected on March 22

She said, “I told him when he was older that depression robbed me of the ability to love and I lay down on the bedroom floor and prayed for the ability to love my children again.

‘I never tried to take my own life, but there were times when I wanted to do it when I was taking it’ [Matt] to Australia I wanted the plane to come down.’

In 2020, Welch detailed her three-decade battle with depression on Loose Women.

Family: The actress is also a parent to sons Matty – singer and guitarist for indie pop band The 1975 – and Louis through her former marriage to actor Tim Healy

At the time, she admitted to trying to throw herself out of a taxi at her lowest point, describing how postpartum depression, after Matty’s birth in 1989, was her first experience of mental health issues.

While promoting her new book The Unwelcome Visitor: Depression and How I Survive It, Denise said she wanted to speak publicly about her experiences to help others.

“Of course I have no medical knowledge, I’m not in a position to tell anyone how to survive, but if anyone can take comfort in my experience…” she said.

“It started when I gave birth to Matty 31 years ago. I hadn’t had a depressive episode before that. I didn’t know the true meaning of depression until I had a very severe postpartum depression.’