Denise Welch, actress, was surprised by Michael Aspel - with the help of her husband, the actor Tim Healy - outside Manchester's Piccadilly Station after a day trip to London. Denise, who was born in Tynemouth and trained at the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, made her West End debut in the musical Yakkety-Yak in 1982. She later joined the Live Theatre Company, Newcastle, before starring in a production of the musical Grease at the Haymarket Theatre, Leicester, in 1984.