Overview
- Welch, who posted on Instagram on Saturday, said she has not had an alcoholic drink for 14 years and noted Townley reached the same mark in February.
- She wrote that the worst harms came with drink and drugs, citing blackouts, bad choices, and fights while she tried to medicate a severe mental illness.
- She said they did not attend Alcoholics Anonymous, credited willpower for quitting, and called AA a lifeline that simply was not their route.
- She described a late‑career lift with new acting work, highlighted Townley’s art showing at the Venice Biennale in Palazzo Bembo, and shared that a second grandchild is due in June.
- Friends and fans praised the milestone, with messages from Amanda Holden, Judi Love, Andrea McLean, Kate Thornton, and Lisa Riley, and she told the Mirror she guarded against swapping alcohol for food.