Denise Welch has relived her 'forgotten' career as a chart star nearly 30 years ago, which included a video starring a much younger Matty Healy and Peter Beardsley, after meeting music legend Shania Twain backstage at ITV.
Denise was on the panel for Loose Women on Thursday, with her heading into the studio in London, just as That Don't Impress Me Much star Shania was appearing as guest on Lorraine. And Denise was thrilled to announce to her many fans on Instagram that she'd grabbed some time with Shania, who last year was confirmed to be taking over from Sheridan Smith on ITV talent show Starstruck.
Shania has just released her comeback album Queen of Me and Denise is clearly a big fan as she uploaded a video of her and Shania on her Insta grid and captioned it: "As Shania said to me today ‘Man, I feel like a Loose Woman’. What a great time at work today. They say don’t meet your hero’s but I’m glad I did. Her new song is fantastic and obviously she came to me, a former top thirty artist to help it zoom up the charts!!!"
And it was Denise's revelation that she'd once had a chart it that came as a surprise to some of her newer followers. It was back in 1995 that the Geordie star made a dent in the top 40 when, after seeing her Soldier Soldier co-stars Robson Green and Jerome Flynn, shoot to the top of the charts with their cover of Unchained Melody, she recorded a cover of Dusty Springfield's You Don't Have To Say You Love Me.
The single reached number 23 in the charts in November 1995, with Denise, who played Marsha Stubbs in Soldier, Soldier, recording a cover of Cry Me A River for its b-side.
The video for You Don't Have To Say You Love Me. featured an array of famous faces, including oldest son Matty, then Newcastle United stars Peter Bearsdley and Steve Watson, late This Morning icon Denise Roberston, snooker ace Willie Thorne and Denise's ex Tim Healy.
Denise talked about her brief chart success on Loose Women a few years ago and sang You Don't Have To Say You Love Me to close the show. And it was then that she divulged the fact that, having scored a number one with Robson and Jerome, music mogul Simon Cowell, seven years before he became a household name on Pop Idol, approached Denise to do a single, before going silent.
Luckily for Denise, who admitted she fell out with her agent about wanting to release single, Virgin Records gave her a deal and she recorded her Dusty cover at the world famous Abbey Road studios.
She also told her Loose Women she'd heard, years later, that Robson had said it would be "a bit naff" to have someone from the same TV show on the same record label as him and Jerome.
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