Actress and Loose Women panelist Denise Welch was forced to speak out when wild rumors about her were swirling. Fans had feared the worst when they saw a report that Welch had gone missing in a hot air balloon. A false police report was also fabricated to take the lie even further, making her the latest celebrity to fall victim to a death hoax. Fear not, though, as Welch is alive and laughing at the whole thing.
Denise Welch… In A Hot Air Balloon?
Welch, who is married to Lincoln Townley and mother to lead singer of The 1975 Matty Healy, was shocked when she logged on to X – formerly known as Twitter – only to find out that she was trending on the social media site because apparently, she had disappeared in a hot air balloon.
According to the Daily Mail, there was a false police report going around on X that said Denise Welch was in a hot air balloon with four others when the balloon went missing. The hot air balloon lifted off in the UK at 9 A.M. and drifted toward northern France. By the afternoon, the balloon had disappeared and all communication was lost, launching a search effort to find Welch and the other passengers.
The fake police report got fans talking and garnered a lot of attention. In fact, many friends and concerned loved ones started to reach out to Welch, wanting to make sure that she was alright and not actually floating away in a hot air balloon over France.
Her family, hilariously enough, wasn’t too worried about her in a hot air balloon. According to The Independent, Welch revealed that they weren’t worried at all. She said, “My husband is in Singapore on business, and my son lives in Los Angeles. They both apparently woke up to see, respectively, their mother and their wife missing over the Pyrenees in a hot air balloon and both went back to sleep!”
The Joke Is On The Hoax
According to Female First, this isn’t the first time that Denise Welch has been subjected to a celebrity death hoax. Back in 2023, she was declared dead on social media yet again but this time for an even sillier reason — bathroom issues. That’s right, the internet had her dead over a bad case of explosive diarrhea.
Of course, Denise Welch was very much alive and well at the time, she was even performing in Diana: The Musical as Queen Elizabeth. Once again, she took to social media to set the record straight. She said, “I’m alive and well and about to watch the jungle. Thanks for your concern.” Followed by, “And we’re off!! Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated #dianathemusical .”
Unfortunately with the way social media works, rumors about celebrities passing away happen all the time. Denise Welch has been a victim two times now! The good thing? Welch takes it all in stride and is able to laugh and poke fun at herself all while assuring the world she’s very much alive and well.
