Actress Denise Welch has poked fun at the 14-year age gap in her relationship with her husband Lincoln Townley as she wished him a happy birthday this morning

Actress Denise Welch jokingly poked fun at her age-gap romance as she wished her husband a happy birthday this morning.

The Waterloo Road star, 66, has been married to her PR manager Lincoln Townley, 52, since July 2013. The pair got together shortly after she announced her split from Tim Healy. Denise and Tim share two sons together, 1975 frontman Matty and actor Louis.

Making light of the 14-year age gap in her marriage, Denise shared a snap of herself and birthday boy Lincoln on her Instagram Stories and captioned it: “”Happy birthday to my best friend in the entire world @lincolntownley. At 52, a tad too old for me but I’m ok with that.”

Earlier this month, Denise reached a milestone in her career as she became the first actress to appear in all four main UK soaps. The Loose Women announced her role in Emmerdale ahead of her stint on the ITV soap involving Belle Dingle finally getting justice thanks to Tom King being jailed.

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Denise Welch tied the knot back in 2013 ( 
Image:
Instagram/ @denise_welch)

Denise couldn’t contain her excitement as she revealed some juicy details to the Loose Women panel and the viewers at home: “I’m going to be in Emmerdale! ” She expressed her enthusiasm about the special one-hour episode, an Emmerdale first, saying: “It’s a one-off one hour special and it’s the first time Emmerdale have ever done it. And for those of you who are fans of Emmerdale, there is a very powerful year-long story of domestic abuse. Which of course, appealed to me when I knew I’d be part of it because of our Facing It Together campaign, and this is a culmination of that story.”

Denise went on to describe her character: “The episode takes place exclusively between the court and the jury and I am one of the head’s of the jury called Heidi. Obviously, I can’t say what the outcome is, but it’s a very, very powerful episode and some of the lines are taken from true cases. Refuge have seen it and they’re thrilled with how it’s been depicted so it was incredible to be a part of it, and that’s on I think December 19.”

Denise has hit a significant milestone in her acting journey by joining the cast of Emmerdale, an achievement she eagerly celebrated, exclaiming: “So I’ve now been in all four soaps.” This accolade led to applause from the audience. She expanded on this unique career landmark, saying: “‘I saw on social media that I’m now a CHEE and that’s because it’s quite something in America to be an EGOT, which is the winner of an Emmy, a Grammy, and Oscar and a Tony. So not quite that level, but Corrie, Hollyoaks, EastEnders, and Emmerdale.”

Actress Denise is believed to be the first star awarded the new status symbol of ‘CHEE’ for having roles in Coronation Street, EastEnders, Hollyoaks, and now Emmerdale. Starting as an actress at 12 and bursting onto the scene with ITV series Soldier, Soldier in 1993, it wasn’t until she stepped behind the bar as Rovers’ Natalie Barnes that Denise truly became a national treasure.

Her memorable stint on Corrie from 1997 to 2000 included a steamy affair with Kevin Webster amid his marriage to Sally and a whirlwind marriage to Des Barnes, ending with her ascent as the Rovers Return landlady. Her dramatic departure from the soap involved fleeing Weatherfield expecting Vinny Sorrel’s child, who turned out to be unfaithful with her sister Debs, leaving her to start anew elsewhere. By 2001, fans discovered Natalie had given birth to Laura and was making a new life in the Cotswolds with family.