Denise Welch says she filmed Coronation Street scenes on no sleep

She became a household name thanks to her role as feisty Natalie Barnes on Coronation Street, but Denise Welch admits she often filmed her scenes while recovering from drug and alcohol binges all night.

The actress enjoyed a three-year stint as the Rovers Return landlady after her debut in the long-running ITV soap in 1997.

But her time on the show was overshadowed by substance and alcohol abuse issues, crippling depression, and a lack of stability as she balanced a dysfunctional lifestyle with her marriage to fellow actor Tim Healy.

Speak with The sunWelch, 64, admits she often arrived on the set of Manchester while still intoxicated after staying up all night.

She recalled, “If I wasn’t home, I’d be up all night and going straight to work. That wouldn’t happen in TV shows now. There were times when I shouldn’t have even been there. But it was a different time.’

Now clean, sober and happily married to her second husband, in-demand artist Lincoln Townley, Welch pins down her time on the cobblestones just as her alcohol use began to escalate.

Old times: The actress enjoyed a three-year stint as the Rovers Return landlady Natalie Barnes following her debut in the long-running ITV soap in 1997 (pictured in 2000)

She said: ‘My drinking really started to become a problem during the times of Coronation Street. I’ve always loved a party. But that was getting fucked on a Saturday night and feeling rough on a Sunday. I had no problem.

“When I did Corrie, it was watched by 21 million people per episode. That’s a third of the country. There’s a lot of fucking pressure on you for that.

“The schedule was brutal. Instead of staying out of work—people stay away these days if they’ve lost an eyelash—I came from the show must go on school.’

She added: “There are no excuses for my behaviour. But there are reasons for that.’

Difficulties: But her time on the show was overshadowed by substance and alcohol abuse issues, crippling depression, and a lack of stability (pictured as Natalie in 1998)

Cheers! Welch establishes her time on the cobblestones as her alcohol use began to escalate (pictured in 1998)

After swapping acting for a regular panel role on the ITV daytime show Loose Women, mother of two Welch has overshadowed her own career by that of her eldest Matty and his band, The 1975.

The band has scored five consecutive songs on one album since 2013, and the actress recently admitted that She Lays Down, a key track from their second LP, was written about her crippling depression.

Speaking on ITV’s Loose Women in August, the actress said she once told Matty that her depression “was losing the ability to love.”

Family: The actress-star shares sons Matt – lead singer of The 1975 – and Louis with ex-husband Tim Healy, best known for his roles in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and Benidorm

“I told him when he was older that depression robbed me of the ability to love and I would lie on the bedroom floor and pray for the ability to love my children again,” she explained.

‘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.

The actress-star shares sons Matt and Louis with ex-husband Tim, best known for his roles in 80s drama Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and ITV comedy Benidorm.

If you are affected by anything in this article, please call The Samaritans on 116 123 or Alcoholics Anonymous on 020 7407 0700.