Denise Welch 'considering' quitting Loose Women

Denise Welch has reportedly threatened to quit ITV’s Loose Women to concentrate on her acting career.The actress and Loose Women panellist has revealed she will take time off from the ITV show later this month and may not return. Welch is currently juggling presenting duties on the panel show with a tour of Steel Magnolias but one the tour is over she plans to take time off to spend with her family. The actress is quoted by The Mirror as saying ‘I’m touring all around the country and then have to race back to the studio. I was already knackered trying to do them both before the tour even started and rehearsals were in London’

On her future with Loose Women the actress told the tabloid newspaper ‘I’ve said after the tour is over I’m going to take a couple of months off to spend with my boys. I haven’t done that in years and I think I’ll deserve it by then. Then I’ll see what happens after that and whether I’ll go back. Who knows what might come up ­between now and then? I love acting and I want to do more of it.’

Earlier this year Welch appeared in Channel Five‘s Celebrity Big Brother alongside other celebrities such as Gareth Thomas, Frankie Cocozza and Natalie Cassidy. While Gareth Thomas was the early favourite to win the series it was Welch who left the house victorious. Following her victory in Celebrity Big Brother the actress confirmed – on Loose Women – that she was separated from her husband Tim Healy following stories in the press about their marriage.

While Welch has been a panellist on Loose Women for nearly ten years she is still well known for her acting roles. Between 2006 and 2010 she played school teacher Steph Haydock in BBC One drama Waterloo Road and Jackie Murphy in the final two seasons of drama series Down to Earth. Welch played Natalie Barnes in Coronation Street for three years famously having an affair with Kevin Webster and later becoming landlady of The Rovers Return.