Denise Welch has said she "thoroughly enjoyed" playing a juror in the soap opera Emmerdale, describing her appearance as "an honour".
Welch, who made her name as Natalie Barnes in Coronation Street, will play head juror Heidi as Tom King appears in court over the domestic abuse of his wife, Belle Dingle, in Wednesday's episode of the ITV show.
Speaking of her appearance on the show, Welch said: "I thoroughly enjoyed shooting this important episode of Emmerdale. Like many, I've been gripped by the Belle and Tom storyline, so to play a head juror in the story's culmination was an honour.
"Parts of the script were taken from real-life cases and the charity Refuge were involved in the research. My character Heidi was more emotionally involved, so I felt that maybe she had experienced some form of domestic abuse herself.
"At Loose Women, wearing my other hat, we launched our Facing It Together campaign this year, which has been hugely successful in shining a light on all sorts of abuse including, of course, coercive control, so the subject matter is one I'm passionate about.
"To share the jury scenes with Charlie Dale and Jack Ellis and also to see lots of my Emmerdale mates made it a job to remember."
The special episode will air at 7:30pm on Virgin Media One and ITV.
Welch is married to fellow actor Tim Healy and is the mother of The 1975 lead singer Matty Healy.
She has appeared on Loose Women on and off since 2000 and starred in more than 450 episodes of Coronation Street between 1997 and 2000.
She has also appeared in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks as Trish Minniver, the BBC drama Waterloo Road, and the sitcom Benidorm.
Welch also played Alison Slater in one episode of EastEnders.
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Source: Press Association
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