Denise Welch was ‘in denial’ about how behaviour impacted The 1975 singer son Matty Healy

Denise Welch says she was 'in denial' about how her substance abuse impacted her son (Image: ITV)

Denise Welch has admitted she was “in denial” about how much her drug and alcohol use was impacting son Matty Healy but eventually had to “take accountability” for her actions.

The 66-year-old has become a well-known face on stage and screen, appearing in Coronation Street, Waterloo Road, Hollyoaks and Soldier Soldier among others before becoming a Loose Women panellist in 2002. She has also been open about how she suffered with clinical depression throughout her life.

It saw Denise turning to alcohol and cocaine in an attempt to try and combat her low mood. However, the substance abuse only made matters worse, and 11 years ago the star made the decision to go completely sober.

She says she had previously ignored the impact her substance abuse had on son Matty, the lead singer of The 1975, and those around her. She opened up about how her struggles affected her son after ADHD Chatter podcast Alex Partridge asked “what did you do right” to raise a famous son.

Denise Welch and son Matty Healy (Image: Getty)

Denise replied: “I did lots of things wrong and you know, Matty and I, we had to have a come to Jesus about things that I was in denial about, how my behaviours have impacted on him. But he has also said ‘but then again mum, if our house wasn’t a bit rock and roll, I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing.

“But you have to take accountability and I was very defensive. All alcoholics are very defensive and all alcoholics, when pushed into a corner, will blame somebody else for why that has happened to them, ‘it’s my illness, it’s because of this, it’s because I was getting a divorce’, it’s not, there are not excuses, there are reasons.”

Denise highlighted The 1975’s song She Lays Down, which Matty said was written about her experiences with post-natal depression. She added: “My son wrote the most incredible song on one of his albums called She Lays Down.

“For anyone who wants to hear poetry in motion about what we have to a degree, [this is] his version of my illness when he was older and he remembered that when he was old enough to understand, because my kids just thought I was poorly, I just went to bed because I was poorly.

“They were protected from what it was. They didn’t understand at young ages, especially Matthew. But when he was old enough, when he was grown, I told him about depression and how you lose the ability to love and how I used to lay down praying, not to God because I’m not religious, but to whatever, to the universe, to whatever, to help me love my son again.

“It really obviously impacted on him because he knows the relationship we have and the love we have for each other.”

Speaking to NME magazine, Matty recounted the “f****** brutal” experience Denise had when he was a small child. He described writing the track as a “catharsis” that “had to come out”.

He explained: “She Lays Down is about my mum. It doesn’t get much more personal than that. I’m sure my mum won’t mind me saying this, but she told me a story when I was about 17, she was so gripped by post-natal depression that she was coming into my room when I was a couple of months old, lying on the floor and actively trying to love me.

“How f****** brutal is that? That is brutal – especially considering how close me and my mum are. We are like, insanely close. That resonated with me so much, I think that writing music for me is such a catharsis, and such a personal thing, I think that had to come out.”