Welsh confirms split from husband

Denise Welch fought back tears today as she revealed on live TV that she has separated from husband Tim Healy.

The actress, who recently won 'Celebrity Big Brother', confessed they split “some time ago”.

The 53-year-old star announced she is no longer with the 'Benidorm' actor after weeks of speculation regarding her infidelity with party planner Lincoln Townley.

She used an appearance on chat show 'Loose Women', which she co-hosts, to reveal the end of their marriage.

A tearful Welsh said: "I just want to say, this is going to be really difficult for me.

"My family made a decision that we would talk about this today. Tim and I separated some time ago. So I'm not having an affair, we have been living our own lives for some time now.

"I just wanted to thank everybody. Tim and I feel a sense of relief that we don't have to hide this anymore. We've actually become better friends since we've made the decision.

"We're all just going to move forward as a family. Tim and I are still going to be co-parents and we love each other very much."

She added her children Matthew, 22 and Louis, 10, were keen for her to reveal the news on the show for which she is famous.

Welch, 53, shocked many TV viewers with her antics on Channel Five’s 'Celebrity Big Brother' when she appeared topless after boozing, and tried to pull another contestant’s pyjama bottoms down.

She said: "The kids love us very much, they wanted me to do this today because if you do it via a newspaper or a magazine they can choose their headlines."

When the audience applauded, fellow panellist Sherrie Hewson praised her bravery.

She said: "You are very brave and very honest. Well done, over, onwards, upwards. You and Tim are very happy. It's a relief."