A Loose Women star hit back at ‘Ageist’ trolls and vowed to flaunt swimwear forever saying: “I’ll never stop posing in swimwear ever.”
Denise Welch, 66, took to the Loose Women panel where she responded to critics who labeled her recent yacht snapshot as inappropriate.
Despite the backlash, she defiantly declared her intent to continue sharing such photos, emphasising her refusal to conform to age-based stereotypes.
During her holiday, the TV icon sported a red Baywatch-style swimsuit and and posed for loved-up snaps with her artist husband, Lincoln.
The star celebrated her 66th birthday soaking up the sunshine in the plunging suit.
On today’s episode of Loose Women Denise said: “I’m carrying the pensioner badge with pride. Last week when I was on my ship, on a cruise, the newspapers said ‘hottest pensioner ever’.”
She added: “I will never stop posing in swimwear ever.”
In a previous interview with The Sun, Denise expressed frustration over the marginalisation of older women in the entertainment industry, contrasting it with the reverence afforded to aging men.
Denise told The Sun she’s sick of older women being made to feel “invisible” while older men in the industry are treated as “silver foxes”.
The former Coronation Street actress says she is determined to use her fame to turn the tables and show that older women can still be sexy and relevant well into their 60s, 70s and beyond.
“There are a lot of articles like, ‘Should you wear a bikini over the age of 50?’.
“Well, I say you should wear a bikini any age you like — and I’m going to wear one until I am 97 just to spite the people who say I shouldn’t.
“I have bumps and lumps and bulges and cellulite and all of those things.
“I don’t use any filters on my bikini shots — although I do get my husband to stand on a chair to get the best angle.
“When The Beatles wrote that song, When I’m 64, there was the lyric ‘when I get older, losing my hair’ — that was the perception we had — that older people lost their good looks.
“We don’t have that any more. It doesn’t matter what year you were born. I actually feel better in my 60s than in my 40s and 50s.
“I think it is very important to say to women: ‘Don’t be told what you can and can’t wear’.
“So when I put one of those pictures on Instagram, it is not me going: ‘Hey guys, look at me!’ . . . that’s just cringe.
“I have to say, 99 per cent of the comments will be positive — it’s wonderful — and I will continue to do it.”
