Coronation Street reunion as Denise Welch meets up with Sally Dynevor and Jane Danson 24 years after quitting

CORONATION Street star Denise Welch has enjoyed a reunion with some of her cast mates a staggering 24 years after she quit the soap.

Denise, 65, met up with a big group of her female pals from the show, including current Corrie stars Jane Danson, Sally Dynevor and Samia Longchambon.

They were also joined by Angela Lonsdale, who previously played a police officer called Emma Watts in Coronation Street, and another female pal.

Denise and the gang had reunited at a trendy restaurant called Smoke, in Wilmslow, Cheshire, and they were all smiles in a group photo.

Sharing the snap on Instagram, Denise told her followers: “Always happy to be back with my girls.”

Angela, who appeared in Corrie from 2000 to 2003, replied: “Now thats what ya call a Girl Gang!”

Jane, who has played Leanne Battersby in the ITV1 soap since 1997, added a red heart emoji and said: “Always happy to be back with you.”

The photo certainly sparked a few smiles from both Corrie fans and Denise’s showbiz pals, too.

Nadia Sawalha, who stars alongside Denise on the Loose Women panel on ITV1, commented: “Awwwwww.”

Another of her followers wrote: “Beautiful picture, women supporting women!”

And someone else penned: “That is a lovely photo!” 

Denise starred in Coronation Street as Natalie Barnes from 1997 to 2000.

Her character was the feisty mother of Tony Horrocks, co-owner of MVB Motors, and she went on to become the landlady of the Rovers Return.

Denise landed the job when her eldest son, 1975 frontman Matty Healy, was just eight years old.

However, her stint on the show was marred by a crippling behind-the-scenes battle with depression and a drink and drug addiction.

Speaking in 2022, Denise admitted: “My drinking really started to be a problem during the Coronation Street times. I had always loved a party.

“But that was getting p***ed on a Saturday night and feeling rough on a Sunday. I didn’t have a problem.

“When I was doing Corrie it was watched by 21million people an episode. That is a third of the country. There is a lot of f***ing pressure on you for that.

“The schedule was unforgiving. Rather than stay off work — people stay off if they’ve lost an eyelash these days — I was from ‘the show must go on’ school.”

Talking on Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe’s Parenting Hell podcast, she added: “There were times when I think I should have stepped back. If I’d had a liver disease or something, everyone would have felt sorry for me.

“But the horrible isolating thing about depression is you have an invisible illness. And that is when the alcohol started and that is when the drugs started.”

This week, Denise will mark 12 years of being sober, having turned her life around.

The actress has always been open about her past demons and often touches upon her recovery while appearing on Loose Women.

Last week, Denise’s Corrie days were brought up on the panel after a hilarious video of her at the 1999 Soap Awards went viral on TikTok.

The clip shows Denise missing out a Sexiest Female Award to Tamzin Outhwaite. Tamzin was starring in rival soap EastEnders at the time.

Having realised she had not won, Denise clapped politely but smiled unconvincingly while giving Tamzin the side eye.