Denise Welch emotionally opened up about her grief and loss of her dad as she returned to Loose Women today.
The 63-year-old actress dabbed at her eyes with a tissue as she spoke about her late father Vin’s passing.
However, despite getting a warm welcome back from co-stars and viewers, Denise later encountered an unpleasant troll on social media.
Tearful Denise Welch on being with her dad
Denise’s dad Vin passed away in September after battling a number of health issues, including pneumonia and pulmonary fibrosis.
She explained amid sobs she hadn’t felt ready to return to the ITV series before now.
Read more: Hollyoaks actress Denise Welch reveals she ‘was removed from a set’ as she contracts Covid-19
Denise also expressed her gratitude to producers for their understanding and compassion during her family’s difficult time.
Tearing up, Denise reflected: “We were all with him when he went.”
‘He went with family’
Denise also related how her father sadly became confused, believing her husband Lincoln Townley was in a car to pick him up.
She continued: “With the lack of oxygen, his mental capacity had declined and he was in and out of lucidity at that point. But he knew that we were there.
It’s been very, very tough.
“It’s been very, very tough, but my sister and I have been a strength for each other. I started to think: ‘Did we protect him enough?'”
A grateful Denise added: “Both my mum and dad, when they went, they went with family.”
She also revealed her family held a party in Vin’s house, saying with a smile: “He would’ve been so peed off he wasn’t there!”
Denise slaps down a Twitter troll
Despite her heart-rending comeback earlier today (Monday November 15), Denise still experienced negativity on social media.
She went on to confront one antagonist on Twitter who was amused she had suffered with COVID with a brutal put-down.
Quote-tweeting their comments and GIF, Denise replied: “For all the lovely comments today after talking about my late dad… there’s [this person].”
Read more: Denise Welch issues statement on ‘horrible’ time as stalker pleads guilty
Several followers subsequently leapt to Denise’s defence. She has previously expressed sceptical views about vaccines on both Loose Women and social media.
One fan tweeted: “People can be so awful.”
“Absolutely disgusting comment, hold your head high and don’t let them get to you,” another Twitter user encouraged her.
And someone else added: “Just ignore the muppet.”
Loose Women airs on ITV on weekdays from 12.30pm.
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