Denise Welch admits she hasn't always been a "perfect mother" but is proud of her sons for having a "really big social conscience".

Denise Welch

Denise Welch

The 61-year-old actress has kids Matt, 30, and 18-year-old Louis Healy with ex-husband Tim Healy, and she is pleased they have grown up as feminists, support diversity "in any way" and are "huge supporters of the LGBT community".

She said: "I always feel I've done a lot of things wrong in my life and I wasn't the perfect mother in many ways, but I have brought up two sons who have a really big social conscience.

"They're both feminists. They're huge supporters of the LGBT community, they support diversity in any way, so if I've done anything right, and their dad obviously, we've raised two cracking boys."

Denise recently admitted she shed two stone after undergoing cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to stop a food addiction - but she still loves eating pies, and fish and chips at times.

Speaking on 'Lorraine', she added: "I gave up alcohol and then I started what I thought may have turned into a food addiction, I replaced alcohol with food.

"I thought, 'I'm on a rocky road here.' So I used CBT which helped me to change my relationship with food.

"So I still love fish and chips, and I still love pies. I'm still a Geordie, obviously. But I make more informed decisions to have them.

"It [CBT] doesn't mean it changes your personality and that you don't want to have a binge and stuff your face sometimes.

"We're all prone to that, but there's little tools I can use to stop emotionally eating, and just make more informed decisions to have things. I'm in a very good place."

Last month, the former 'Waterloo Road' star admitted she barely recognises who she was before she quit drinking.

She wrote on Twitter: "Today marks 7 yrs since I had my last drink. I hardly recognise the woman I was but I feel for her. Giving up saved my life (sic)"