NORTH-EAST actress Denise Welch has ruled out a return to Coronation Street as speculation mounts that she has landed one of TV's highest paid jobs.

Welch is being hotly tipped to replace Judy Finnigan on the This Morning sofa, following Judy and husband Richard Madeley's defection to Channel 4.

The 42-year-old mother-of-two may be joined by John Lesley on Britain's most famous settee.

Meanwhile, she will star in the drama, Waiters, screened on Friday - her first role since leaving the Street.

The actress said she will not return as Rovers Return landlady Natalie Barnes.

She said: "I left with no intention of going back. I left because I wanted to pursue other challenges.

"I had been there four years and, as an actress, I have always been motivated by change in my career. I felt four years was long enough.

"I had a wonderful time and I didn't leave because I was unhappy. It was just because I was bored.

"I was spending a lot of time wiping the bar and emptying ashtrays at the back of shot and I just felt I wasn't being stretched."

She wants to spend more time with actor husband Tim Healey and their sons, Matthew, 12, and Louis, four months.