Denise Welch's 'Celebrity Big Brother' win felt "hollow" because of her mental health struggles.
Denise Welch
The 'Loose Women' star won the celebrity version of the reality programme in 2012 but although she triumphed in the show, she now admits it was "the wrong time" to go on the show.
She said: "It was the wrong time for me to go in there. I won it, and thank you to those who voted, for me but it was a hollow, hollow victory, as it was a really horrible time for me.
"My post natal depression illness was very severe. From the start, those around me never considered this to be anything other than a serious illness. If I hadn't had that support, I can honestly say I don't know what the outcome would have been."
And Denise is glad she is not "self-medicating" now and likes her new "boring" life.
Speaking on Dr Christian's Second Opinion podcast, she added: "Staying sane means that I now do everything I can to not make my own situation worse, which is what I was doing by self-medicating. It's not something we miss any more. We are very happy being boring. Boring is the new black."
Denise previously admitted she barely recognises who she was before she quit drinking.
Last month, to mark seven years of sobriety, the 60-year-old presenter wrote on social media: "Today marks 7 yrs since I had my last drink. I hardly recognise the woman I was but I feel for her. Giving up saved my life (sic)"]
And in 2018, Denise revealed she made the decision to stop drinking after being shown a video of her actions by husband Lincoln Townley, who made her realise she needed to address her problems.
She said: "I'd smashed the flat up, and he picked me up from the theatre that night, spoke to me all the way, told me that he loved me ... I had complete blackouts. Door was off its hinges, I'd smashed the lamp. I had no recollection."
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