ITV Loose Women star Denise Welch cancels job due to health concerns

Loose Women star Denise Welch has been forced to pull out of her pantomime role due to illness. The ITV star had been due to appear in Peter Pan at Nottingham's Theatre Royal.

Denise, who is also an actress known for her soap roles in Coronation Street, Waterloo Road and Hollyoaks, was set to star as Captain Hook in the performance. An email to ticket holders from the theatre read: "We are sorry to announce that Denise Welch will no longer be performing in this year's pantomime due to ill health."

The message continued: "We send Denise our warmest wishes, and hope she feels better very soon."

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Stepping into the Loose Women star's spot will be TV actor and musical theatre performer Richard Windsor, hailing from Nottinghamshire, renowned for his portrayal of Dr Cal Knight in BBC's Casualty.

Denise has spoken openly about her health in the past. In January last year, she revealed she had been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Discussing taking medication for the condition, she said: "One of the things I am always glad of the opportunity of being able to tell people is that, ADHD medication changes so many peoples lives for the better, but there are some people it is not good for and I was absolutely one of them."

Denise has struggled with clinical depression for over 30 years. She describes it as "the most terrifying thing". She also suffered post-natal depression after giving birth to her first son, Matthew

Denise has also suffered from vertigo for about 15 years. She describes it as a "miserable" condition that feels like you are falling off the edge of something.

The pantomime will go ahead with Gok Wan as the Magical Merman, Paul Chuckle as Starkey, and Steve Hewlett as Smee. It is scheduled to run from Saturday, December 7 to Sunday, January 12.