Where are they now? Corrie Icons of the 90s - Denise Welch

Denise Welch joined Coronation Street as Natalie Horrocks (later Natalie Barnes) in 1997 and was part of the show until 2000.  She played the street strumpet who went after Kevin Webster when wife Sally was away looking after her ill mother in Scarborough - and she was given one of the best slaps that we've seen on the cobbles!

Sally Dynevor (who plays Sally Metcalfe) and Denise Welch re-enacted the slap scene earlier this year when they met at the Greater Manchester Run.  Have a look at it here.



Denise left Coronation Street in December 2000. The door was left open for her return, an offer that, to date, has not been taken up.

She continued acting with roles in Where the Heart is, Down to Earth, Waterloo Road, Holby City and The Bill. Then she became a part of the Loose Women team from 2005 until 2013.

In 2016 she starred in the wonderful telly show Boy Meets Girl.  She has released her autobiography.

Since leaving the Street Denise has confessed that she has suffered from clinical depression for most of her life and that during her time on the programme her suffering was acute. Her problems were accentuated by alcoholism, a problem she was helped with by Kevin Kennedy (who played Curly Watts) who encouraged her to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.  

Visit Denise's website here.

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Classic Corrie Christmas Moments Countdown - Day 11

The ITV Coronation Street website, up to now, has not released a classic Corrie clip today. 

So, to make up for it, here are a few snap shots of Christmas on Corrie from, I believe, 1997 and 1999.

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Rovers Return landlady in Celebrity Big Brother House

Denise Welch, who played Rovers Return landlady Natalie Horrocks on Coronation Street, joined the Celebrity Big Brother House last night. 

Denise was the last to be announced as a housemate, Channel 5 obviously keeping their best housemate until last.

Wearing a full length (fake?) fur coat and plenty of make-up, Denise joined a house full of young and skinny glamour-models-dolly-birds I'd never heard of or seen before. 

Romeo from So Solid Crew hugged Denise when she entered the house, very happy to see her and told her his mum was one of her greatest fans. Fellow soap actor Natalie from EastEnders is also in the house and Denise said she was "very happy" that Natalie was there.

So just when it looked like Celebrity Big Brother was going to be another year of no-marks and wanna-bes, they go and throw in Denise Welch and it just might be worth watching after all.

Denise's husband Tim Healy also appeared in Coronation Street as Sean Tully's dad.

See also: Denise Welch's autobiography reveals a cocaine habit.

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Denise Welch's autobiography reveals a cocaine habit

Seems there's another Coronation Street celeb autobiography out on the shelves this month in addition to Bevery Callard's. This one is by Denise Welch who played Natalie Horrocks Barnes in the 1990s. She's the one, if you recall, that broke up Kevin and Sally's marraige. Turns out the big scandal revealed in her book is her confession that she had a cocaine habit while she was on Corrie. In the Mirror there are excerpts from her book. She admits she was suffering depression and that was how she coped (badly) with it. She also had a drink problem and an affair with a younger man while still married to Tim Healy. Sounds like she'd really been through a bad patch but is finally on the road to recovery. The risks she took and descriptions of how she struggled make for pretty harrowing reading. Her book, Pulling Myself Together, is out April 29 and you can also order it online.

Ex-Corrie couple honoured with celebration

Tim Healy, who played Sean Tully's dad on Coronation Street, and Denise Welch, who played Rovers Return barmaid Natalie Horrocks, are to be honoured in a celebration by the Variety Club at Newcastle’s Civic Centre on February 6th.

The event is open to everyone (who can afford the £50 ticket) and if you'd like to atend there are more details here.