Coronation Street actress Denise Welch has announced she is 8 years sober.
Denise who is most renowned as brassy blonde temptress Natalie Barnes in Coronation Street, took to Twitter today to share a heartwarming clip, in which she told how ditching booze has transformed her life for the better.
The former party animal, 60, told how quitting booze has also "changed the lives of those that love her".
She credited her third husband Lincoln with helping her kick her addiction by giving up booze at the same time - which she said gave "their three sons wings to fly without having to worry about them".
She said: "Today, April 18th I am celebrating being 8 years sober and I just want to thank everybody who has supported me on this journey. If it wasn't for my husband Lincoln who got sober with me I don't know where I would be.
"If any if you are in the early stages or wherever you are in your sobriety journey I just want to say it will be the best thing you have ever done.
"And for me it just hasn't changed my life, but it has changed the life of all of the people that love me and, indeed, my friends
"But by us getting sober we have given our three sons wings to fly without having to worry about us. It renewed my relationship with my family which my drinking had somewhat tried to destroy, I was in a very bad place."
She proudly wrote with her video: "8 years sober today. Best decision I ever made, not just for myself but for everyone who loves me."
Her sober announcement comes after she announced earlier this week that she is to release a book about her 30 year battle with depression, which aim to help readers who suffer from the condition.
Denise was first diagnosed with clinical depression after the birth of her eldest son Matt Healy, 30, who is frontman for rock band The 1975.
She shared a picture of her new book The Unwelcome Visitor on Instagram, in which she chronicles her journey with depression and aims to tell readers who have the condition "how they can live a full life".
Publisher Briony Gowlett told the Book Seller website Denise had "a keen ability to relate to people from all different walks of life" .
She added that "her sharing of her lived experience is invaluable as part of the conversation around mental health".
Last year Denise took to social media to document her troubles as she suffered with an episode of clinical depression.
