NORTH-EAST actress Denise Welch has told how media interest in her private life made her feel as though she was permanently in the Big Brother house.

She talked about her marriage problems in The Big Interview on Tyne Tees Television, which will be shown at noon on Sunday.

She also said she and her husband, Tim Healy, are working to mend their marriage after her recent affair.

She said: "We have been married for 15 years, and I defy anyone who has been married for 15 years to say there are not some problems there.

"We have a toddler and a 15-year-old, and we had kind of lost 'Tim and Denise' on the way.

"But we are trying to put it behind us and learn from it, and decided we want to be together and go forward.

"I am very happy that we are working our way through it."

She said some papers sensationalised the episode, and used underhand means to get information for stories.

She said: "It is horrendous, and especially the lengths to which some journalists will go, even trying to access your phone account.

"You feel you are in the Big Brother house, it is so horrible."