Denise Welch has revealed that if she cannot reach her eldest son, The 1975 frontman Matty Healy, she will resort to calling his bandmates to get through to him.
In a new interview with The Daily Mail, the soap star, 68, said she will ring up Healy's bandmate George Daniel - who is also Charli XCX's husband - if her own son won't answer his phone.
Parents never 'completely exhale'
Welch has known Daniel since he was 12 years old, as Healy, 37, and Daniel, 36, grew up together and started The 1975.
Reflecting on being a mother to Healy and her other son, Louis, Welch said that parents "[never] completely exhale".
"This is something they don't tell you: from the minute you give birth to that child, you'll be an emotional wreck until the day you die," she told the publication.
"Every day, no matter what. Every heartbreak, every job they don't get, every girl they're with, every failure… it's just constant!"
Even with adult children, it's difficult to let go, she said. "We're not ready to not be their first port of call any more. Their partner is – but so they should be. And I teach them that."
Healy's wedding and Welch's new chapter
Healy recently tied the knot with model Gabbriette in a star-studded wedding in Hollywood. The couple started dating around 2023 and announced their engagement in June 2024.
The singer was previously romantically linked to Taylor Swift for a brief period in 2023, before he began dating Gabbriette.
Speaking about the wedding, which was held at the Castillo del Lago mansion located right under the Hollywood sign, Welch said: "The wedding was just so full of love.
"I just remember looking up at the sign and thinking how is my little boy – you know, because they don't move from being 12, in your head, 'How is my little boy getting married in Hollywood? At this fantastic affair?!'"
Welch has previously commented on Healy and Swift's short-lived relationship, telling US talk show host Andy Cohen last year that "being [Taylor Swift's] mother-in-law is a role that I am glad I lost".
The interview comes shortly after Welch announced she is leaving Loose Women, which she has appeared on and off for 25 years, to focus on acting.
In an Instagram post, she said she wanted to follow "the most wonderful opportunities" she was being offered in acting.
"I did leave for about seven years and went back in 2018, and this show has been part of mine and my family's life for well nearly a quarter of a century," she explained.
"I have the most wonderful, wonderful memories, and it's just that acting has always been my first love, and I think the thing I'm best at."
She added that she is entering a "new chapter of my life".
Welch continued: "I just wanted… to thank all of the people who have shared my stories with me.
"I've shared my life with you, the good, the bad, and the ugly. I'm very Marmite, but I cherish all the comments, good or bad, that I've had over the years, and I just hope you wish me well for this new exciting chapter in my life.
"I'll miss everybody, but I will remain friends with the whole gang because, despite what you might read, we are a happy band of campers. Anyway, lots of love and thanks for sticking with me."
Welch recently appeared in Channel 4 series Stepping Up, written by and starring Josh Pugh. Fans will see her on screens again in September in the Channel 5 drama Forever Home, which is an adaptation of Graham Norton's bestselling novel.
She shares her two sons with former husband, actor Tim Healy. Welch is now married to artist Lincoln Townley, who has a son, Lewis Townley, with his former wife Beverley Scales.
