Over the weekend, Denise Welch found herself at the centre of a hot air balloon crash hoax, with reports she’d gone missing.
The claim first began on X. Someone posted an edited photo of Denise’s Wikipedia page, suggesting the star had gone on a hot air balloon trip and had gone missing. However, the whole story was an elaborate rumour which really took off. So much so that Denise actually had people calling her to make sure she was okay.
Not that her husband and son were too bothered…
Denise Welch opens up on hot air balloon reports
On Loose Women today (March 31), Denise opened up on her thoughts to the reports. She also shared how her loved ones reacted to the possibility of her being missing.
Speaking to her fellow panellists about how she found out, Denise revealed: “My journalist friend called me and left a message saying: ‘I hope this isn’t true.’ Then an hour later, she began to panic. And I was getting messages from people asking if I was okay.
“I looked at what she had actually sent me. It was a very well written, realistic article that said: ‘Denise Welch is worrying many of her fans.’ It said I had gone missing on a hot air balloon over the Pyrenees mountains. And that Kent Police had put out a statement saying they were actively looking for me.”
I have since found out they both woke up to see their mother and their wife respectively missing in a hot air balloon. And they both went back to sleep.
By that point, Denise was at the centre of trending memes online. And some users declared it was “the best thing on the internet” in years.
Recalling her favourite memes that she saw, Denise said: “I was in the balloon with Mariah Carey. Then Lady Gaga made a comment saying: ‘I’m worried about Denzie, get the search parties out.’ It started trending in the US, where nobody knows who I am.”
While everyone online was concerned about Denise, two of the people closest to her had a very different reaction.
Speaking about how her family reacted, she said: “My husband [Lincoln Townley] was in Singapore and my son [Matty Healy] lives in Los Angeles. I have since found out they both woke up to see their mother and their wife respectively missing in a hot air balloon. And they both went back to sleep.”
Denise got involved with the story
On Saturday (March 29), when Denise became aware of the trending story, she got involved in the joke.
She posted a video on X of a paper cut-out of a hot air balloon floating through the sky. She captioned it: “So lucky are those who got a sighting of my journey.”
The story gathered a lot of attention over the weekend. And many people didn’t actually realise it was a joke.
One user wrote on X: “I have no idea if this Denise thing is true because I don’t know who she is. But the tweets are really amusing.”
Another penned: “The rumour that Denise Welch has gone missing in a hot air balloon on the Pyrenees mountains may be the best thing that has happened on the internet in years.”
A third commented: “I hope Denise Welch is found safely.”
Denise also poked fun at the incident on Loose Women today. At the end of the show, she was seen asking for help in front of a hot air balloon graphic. The chef’s kiss moment was her scarf blowing in the wind!
Read more: Denise Welch snaps at Loose Women co-star Kaye Adams in fiery clash: ‘I’m talking!’
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