Denise Welch has clarified that she did not vanish in a mysterious hot air balloon incident after reports popped off online.
The Loose Women star reposted a puzzling article which said she had disappeared yesterday with four other passengers on her Instagram stories.
It claimed the 66-year-old had been travelling in a hot air balloon from the UK to France before it ‘dropped off radar, lost all communication, sparking an international search effort.’
Not letting the false report burst her bubble, Denise wrote alongside multiple crying laughing emojis: ‘Thank goodness they found me!!! WTAF??!!!’
She also reposted various satirical social media posts, including reports Lady Gaga had been enlisted in the hunt to find her and Sir Michael Caine had broken his leg after catching her from the sky.
The ITV star even shared a clip of herself strutting with her son The 1975 star Matt Healy’s fiancée Gabbriette with the caption: ‘When you’ve been missing for hours above France in a balloon.’
The fake news article claimed Denise had embarked on a ‘scenic journey across the English Channel’ before disappearing in ‘French airspace near Calais.’
It also falsely quoted a ‘Kent Police Chief Inspector’ who said: ‘We lost contact around 11.30 am. The balloon’s transponder stopped pinging and there’s been no word since. It’s utterly baffling.’
Quite.
This is not the first time Denise has been forced to shut down false stories about herself.
In 2023, she had to state she was alive and well after she was victim of a death hoax circulating on X.
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On the social media site, Denise shared alongside three embarrassed emojis: ‘I’m alive and well and about to watch the jungle. Thanks for your concern.’
She later made light of the bizarre rumours and shared a picture of her transformation into Queen Elizabeth for Diana: The Musical on X, captioning the post: ‘And we’re off!! Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated #dianathemusical 👑👑👑.’
Elsewhere, Denise has proved her ultimate hun status by previously freely admitting to The Guardian that pooing herself in New York while wearing cream trousers was her most embarrassing moment.
She recalled: ‘We were going to see my son Matty and his band, The 1975, at Madison Square Garden, and I was walking through the streets, enjoying the sunshine, pretending I was in some kind of video – throwing my hat into the New York sky like Mary Tyler Moore.
‘I saw a couple of people turn and look at me. Now, although I’m not famous in New York, whenever Matty’s there I do get recognised as his mum, so I’m smiling and waving at them.
‘I went back to the hotel room and bent over to get something out of the suitcase, and my husband said: “Do you realise you’ve shat yourself?”‘
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