Denise Welch alive and well after hot air balloon hoax convinced fans she was lost over Calais

LOOSE Women star Denise Welch joined in the joke amid bizarre reports she had gone missing in a hot air balloon.

Rumours spread at the weekend that she was last spotted drifting over northern France.

BBCDenise Welch joined in the joke amid reports she had gone missing in a hot air balloon (pictured on BBC’s Down To Earth in 2005)[/caption]

A fake online report claimed Denise, 66, and four others “vanished after launching from the UK” with the balloon having “disappeared over French airspace near Calais”.