It’s not the first time Denise has bravely opened up on her battle with clinical depression

LOOSE Women star Denise Welch was comforted by her co-stars as she provided them with a health update on Wednesday’s show.

The 66-year-old was on the panel of the ITV show, headed up by Kaye Adams, and it began with a short segment titled ‘Denise on her recent mental health.’

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Loose Women star Denise Welch was comforted by her co-stars as she provided them with a health update on Wednesday’s showCredit: ITV

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The star revealed why she’d been away from the show last weekCredit: ITV

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Denise’s co-stars comforted her and Janet got up to give her a hugCredit: ITV
In it, Denise admitted she hadn’t been well for the past couple of weeks and admitted her time off the show last week came as a result of her depression making an “unwelcome” return.

The brave star said: “I’ve had a really rough couple of weeks which I’m still in a bit.

“I’d just done a podcast saying I’d been free for five years from clinical depression and that I hoped that something that happened when I had a baby had reversed.

“But sadly the unwelcome visitor paid me an unwelcome visit and so I’ve not been well for a couple of weeks.”

Denise continued: “The reason why I’m glad we’ve alluded to it is because we do all of things like Britain Get Talking and sometimes people still find that it isn’t always good to talk.

“So I just wanted to come on here because what I need when I’m poorly is for my friends to just know that I need time to get well.

“I need for the people that I work with like yourselves and like our wonderful production team to say ‘if you want to come to work come to work.”

“And if I don’t, like last week I didn’t come to work, because I know my illness more than anyone.”

After opening up to the Loose Women audience and her co-stars, Denise was heavily supported by all of them.

Janet Street-Porter even jumped up to give her friend a big hug and a kiss on the check, to which the Loose Women stars called “a world’s first.”

Denise spoke about her clinical depression in a series of Twitter posts in 2019.

“This is how it feels,” she said breaking down in tears in the heart breaking video.

“Part of me feels ridiculous. But if I’m going to talk about the journey of an episode I want you to see that there’s nothing different in my circumstances to yesterday but I’m terrified about everything.”

She added: “There’s no joy in anything, no good news, no bad news, noen of it makes any sense it just doesn’t matter. I’m just trying to chronicle this journey so people who don’t understand can understand.”

In an earlier video she said: “As someone who professes to be a mental health advocate I have to share the bad times.

“I am in the midst of a mild episode of clinical depression and having the shower I’ve just had is hard.

“Trying to explain depression to those who are fortunate not to suffer is difficult but it’s kind of like it is what it says on the tin.

“Depression depresses every single emotion that you have so that there is a flatness and a void.

“This started yesterday with feelings of slight unreality, the atmosphere around me starts to change and how I describe it is that the colour goes out of my life and people I’m around and that I love being with I don’t want to be around.

“Things I have to look forward to I don’t want to be part of and even just things I have to do this week I start stressing about maybe having to withdraw from something and maybe letting somebody down.”

Denise, who has spoken about her battle with depression for more than 30 years added: “I’m always telling other people to be kinder to their selves if they’re in the midst of an episode but sometimes I don’t do it to myself so I get a metallic taste in my mouth, a tingling my palms and the colour starts to go.

“Right now I’m going through the motions but I just want to be on my own and it’s hard.

“But those who know me and follow me know that I describe it as the unwelcome visitor and he’s here and I have to wait for him to go. And I just have to do the best that I can.”

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Denise has spoken about her clinical depression before nowCredit: ITV