Loose Women's Denise Welch reveals 'miserable' health condition left her 'screaming like a wounded animal'

20 February 2024, 11:00

Denise Welch has announced she has been suffering from vertigo for the past 15 years, during an emotional chat on Loose Women this week.

Loose Women panellist Denise Welch, 65, has revealed a secret health battle which left the TV star 'screaming like a wounded animal.'

The Celebrity Big Brother winner recently disclosed that she has been suffering from vertigo, which has left her 'struggling' for the past 15 years. She also stated that this debilitating illness has forced her to miss work on Loose Women and affected her daily life.

Denise- who is mother to The 1975 singer Matty Healy, 34, and son Louis, 22,- bravely opened up to her fellow Loose Ladies Katie Piper, 40, Brenda Edwards, 54, and Charlene White, 43, about her painful condition.

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Speaking on the show, Denise said: "I've had it for about 15 years. My sister has it. They say it's not hereditary, but she has it too."

The mother-of-two continued: "It feels like you are falling off the edge of something. So my normal vertigo would be that if I'm walking around, normally 90 per cent of the time, I'll be okay. But when I lie down at night, I go 1, 2, 3, 4, spin and it's like a rollercoaster.

"It's like when you used to get drunk, but without the fun getting there. That's what it is. And then if I'd wake up in the night to go to the loo, I'd have to sit on the edge of the bed and hold the bed and it's absolutely miserable."

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The Dancing on Ice contestant then recalled a particularly painful incident, which left her sounding like a 'wounded animal'.

Denise continued: "And last year in New York, I went to the airport early so that I could find some seats and lie down, it was so bad. It's really, really debilitating. 

"Anyway, I went to an ENT guy who sent me - this is after years of trying to get it done properly - went to an audiologist, check my hearing and said that was fine. And then it sounds pretty brutal, but we established it was mainly my right side.

"So Lincoln was with me. And he laid me down on the bed and he said, 'I'm going to put you backwards to the left', which he did, which was horrible, but not so bad. Then he sat me up and put me down to the right - they threw me backwards. First time, threw me backwards with my head to the left, then with my head to the right. Lincoln said I sounded like an a wounded animal."

Watch Denise Welch discuss vertigo here:

Denise Welch discloses secret health battle

The TV favourite added: "I was meant to be coming to get the train to come down to work that night. And I had to phone Ashley, our producer, and put Lincoln on. I was vomiting. I had to take the rest of the week off work.

"But then on the Friday, I woke up and it had gone. This is three months ago and I haven't spun once."

According to the NHS website, vertigo is: "Feeling like you or everything around you is spinning – enough to affect your balance. It's more than just feeling dizzy."

They add that a vertigo attack can last from a "few seconds to hours" and if you have severe vertigo, it can last for "many days or months."

There is currently no cure for vertigo, however ways to ease symptoms include: "Lying still in a quiet, dark room to reduce the spinning feeling, moving your head carefully and slowly during daily activities and sitting down straight away when you feel dizzy."

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