ACTRESS Denise Welch is looking forward to her first Christmas with son Louis.

The former Coronation Street star was devastated when Louis was born with a rare bowel condition which meant his body could not absorb food.

Now, just months later, he has made a full recovery and Derwentside-born Denise and husband Tim Healy are looking forward to spending their first Christmas with Louis.

Denise said: "He was very poorly when he was first born. He's better now so it doesn't matter how many times he wakes up in the night.

"But he's pretty much slept through since he was three months old. He's such an even tempered little thing ... he's a very good baby."

Denise, 43, who is starring in Jack and The Beanstalk at Newcastle's Theatre Royal, is enjoying being a mum again.

She said: "It's difficult not seeing Louis very much because of work.

"I see him in the morning then hand him over to my sister, Debbie, who lives with us. So this Christmas will be good."

And she said that her Northumberland home will be the scene of a number of reunions over the Christmas period.

She said: "It will be manic, we've got relatives coming from Greece and Australia. It'll be like the United Nations in here."

In the New Year, Denise and Tim, 49, are starring in a charity show for their late friend, Sammy Johnson, but not before a well-earned break.

Denise said: "If I don't get somewhere hot in February I'll crack up, so we're thinking of Dubai."