Denise Welch - I Got Sober For Love

How To Fail With Elizabeth Day

Sony Music

Society & Culture

4.8 • 9.4K Ratings

🗓️ 22 October 2025

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

You might know Denise from Coronation Street, Waterloo Road, or as the winner of Celebrity Big Brother in 2012 and a regular panelist on ITV’s flagship panel chat show, Loose Women, or remember when she won Celebrity Big Brother in 2012. But what you might not know is the extraordinary story that shaped the strong woman she is. It’s a story of addiction, depression, tabloid phone-hacking and the darker side of fame. It’s also the story of sobriety, recovery and the surreality of having survived post-natal psychosis to become the mother of one of the famous musical frontmen in the world: Matty Healy of The 1975. In this beautifully candid conversation, Denise opens up about surviving the toughest times but knowing how to celebrate the good ones (and yes, she does give us the inside scoop on being a guest at Charli XCX’s wedding). This episode is a testament to working-class grit and finding light at the end of the tunnel while never losing your sense of humour. I hope you take as much from it as I did. WE LOVE YOU, DENISE! ✨ IN THIS EPISODE: 02:16 Being a 'Hun' and Social Media Fame 04:32 Family and The 1975 09:03 First Failure: Domestic Goddess 14:28 ADHD Diagnosis and Mental Health 18:34 Second Failure: Getting Sober 28:01 Hormonal Chaos and Early Struggles 28:55 Postnatal Depression 30:04 The Depths of Depression 31:15 Mental Health Advocacy 34:07 The Song 'She Lays Down' 38:43 Struggles with Alcoholism 42:21 Finding Sobriety and Love 48:31 A New Chapter in Acting 💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER: If someone said to me: “You need to lose a limb and if you do, you will never have depression again,” I would have offered both arms like that. And to be honest, I still would. Depression is the inability to feel extreme sadness. You can't feel happiness, sadness…nothing. It depresses everything about your life. Giving up alcohol didn't cure my depression, but it stopped compounding it. I don't believe there is such a thing as a functioning alcoholic because you are physically going to work, but you are functioning on about 10% of your capability. 🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS: AA: www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk Join the How To Fail community: https://howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content Elizabeth’s Substack: https://theelizabethday.substack.com/ 📚 WANT MORE? ON ADDICTION… With Mae Martin and Marian Keyes - an episode that weaves together two powerful conversations about addiction and recovery, exploring how both guests confronted their struggles, rejected shame and ultimately found hope and purpose on the other side. https://play.megaphone.fm/ew3m8bdot1athsleg0xf6a Joe Wickes - the fitness coach opens up about growing up with family addiction, how exercise became his refuge and the challenges of staying consistent, compassionate and balanced in both life and parenting. https://play.megaphone.fm/0ii1ky7wtgsnxvxmdo7iwq Malcolm Gladwell - the bestselling author confesses to ‘failing’ to help a friend with alcoholism. https://play.megaphone.fm/jsbf9r5qr9ophi0vvbornq 💌 LOVE THIS EPISODE? Subscribe on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts Leave a 5⭐ review – it helps more people discover these stories 👋 Follow How To Fail & Elizabeth: Instagram: @elizabday TikTok: @howtofailpod Podcast Instagram: @howtofailpod Website: www.elizabethday.org Elizabeth and Denise answer YOUR questions in our subscriber series, Failing with Friends. Join our community of subscribers here: howtofailpod.com Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan Engineer: Matias Torres Assistant Producer: Suhaar Ali Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot Executive Producer: Carly Maile How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	If someone said to me, you need to lose a limb and if you do, you will never have depression again.
0:06.0	I would have offered both arms like that. And to be honest, I still would. I don't know the person
0:11.5	that I was now that I'm 13 years sober. I'm 67 years old and I'm driving along thinking,
0:18.3	my God, I'm driving. I've actually passed my desk.
0:21.5	Hello and welcome to How to Fail. This is the podcast that believes that most failure can teach us something meaningful if we let it.
0:28.8	And before we get into this episode and this conversation, I would love it if you could follow and subscribe to the show because it really, really does help.
0:39.7	So just tap that button now and I will be forever grateful. Life's been full on lately in the best possible way. I've just wrapped up a
0:47.2	world-win national tour for my latest book. And while it's been an incredible experience,
0:52.2	it's also been kind of exhausting. And honestly, I know I'm not alone
0:56.1	and feeling like there just aren't enough hours in the day. Between work, family, friends,
1:01.1	and the general chaos of being an adult, even finding time to eat properly can feel like a luxury.
1:07.0	That's where Uber Eats steps in, because, let's be real, adulting is a lot.
1:13.8	Uber Eats gives me one fewer thing to worry about.
1:16.6	It's fast, easy and means you can actually enjoy a moment of calm,
1:20.9	even if it's just flopping on the sofa in peace.
1:23.9	So next time you're feeling like you've done just enough, let Uber Eats take care of the rest.
1:29.4	When you've done enough, order some food on Uber Eats.
1:33.1	How to Fail is partnering with Bumble to bring your second chance love stories to life.
1:39.1	Hear how this happy couple hit it off after they met on Bumble.
1:43.1	So I wanted to tell you about meeting my
1:45.5	handsome partner because we met in an app. It was actually quite funny because it was kind of
1:52.6	live at first sight actually. So kind of weird really how much the world has found its rhythm
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Sony Music, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Sony Music and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.