Denise Van Outen and Johnny Vaughan to present together again

Big Breakfast hosts Denise Van Outen and Johnny Vaughan will return to the screen for the first time in nearly 20 years.

Denise and Johnny, who were previously involved in a public feud, will present together on Steph’s Packed Lunch, it was announced Tuesday.

Denise and Johnny, who famously fronted Channel 4’s early morning show from 1998 to 2001, will share hosting duties together again on June 13.

During Tuesday’s packed lunch, Denise regularly told presenter Steph McGovern, ‘Steph’s packed lunch will be presented next week by me and… Johnny Vaughan.

“We talk all the time and we keep saying we should do something together and this just feels like the perfect time for us. I can’t wait, I’m so excited.

“The last time we were actually on screen together, it wasn’t The Big Breakfast; we did a game show called Passport to Paradise and that was 20 years ago.”

Johnny added: “We’ve had Blur, the Gallagher Brothers are rumored and now we can now confirm it’s the big one, the ’90s reunion you’ve been waiting for… Johnny and Denise, and me can not wait. ‘

Steph said, “I’m so excited about this because it’s the reunion we’ve all been longing for for about 20 years.”

The pair were last seen together on TV in 2004 on the BBC1 Saturday night entertainment series, Passport to Paradise.

A reunion between the pair was first teased in 2021, after Denise revealed that the presenting duo had called off their feud during the Covid pandemic.

MailOnline revealed at the time that Channel 4 bosses were considering bringing back the cult show to celebrate its 30th anniversary.

Denise confirmed that she had already discussed ideas with her former co-host, but unfortunately the plan never came to fruition.

Denise, 46, told MailOnline exclusively: ‘We have started conversations. It would be nice to do something on the occasion of the 30th anniversary.

“The original house has so many great memories and it would be great if we could return and film there, even though it has been renovated.

“We would love to see all the old faces return and play some of the old games as well. I’m sure the fans will love it and see it as a real nostalgia trip.

“It would be so nice to work with Johnny on show again, which means so much to both of us.”

On restoring her relationship with Radio X DJ Johnny, 54, she added: ‘It was really nice that me and Johnny are back in touch.

“It’s weird because we’ve never had a huge fight or fight, we just act like sloppy teenagers with each other.” We are probably quite similar in many ways and sometimes you can have a clash of personalities.

But actually I have a lot of love for Johnny and I’m sure he feels the same way about our friendship.’

Airing between 1992 and 2002, The Big Breakfast was viewed by two million viewers in its heyday and attracted some of showbiz’s biggest names as guests.

Johnny and Denise were arguably the show’s most popular presenting duo, alongside original hosts Chris Evans and Gaby Roslin who ran the show between 1992 and 1994.

Channel 4 is bringing The Big Breakfast back in May for a one-off special as part of Black Takeover Day hosted by comedian Mo Gilligan, but the show’s original stars are not expected to appear until the anniversary next year.

Denise, whose one-woman play Some Girl I Used To Know will be streamed live over Easter weekend, believes a reunion would be a nostalgic throwback to the 1990s, when TV shows were “fun.”

Though she admits that both herself and Johnny used to get away with edgier content compared to now, and also claims that the outfits she wore on the morning show were “inappropriate.”

Denise explained, “When I look back I think how free it was. We had no script, no autocue, and we always got away with saying things that probably wouldn’t be acceptable now.

“I’m sure I was dressing very inappropriately at 7 in the morning. I dressed like I just came out of a nightclub. It was all part of it.’

Denise’s relationship with Johnny broke down after a contract dispute that led to her decision to leave the show in January 1999.

The pair briefly reunited in September of the following year for Johnny’s final four months as host, and again in 2008 when Denise co-hosted the Capital FM breakfast show with her longtime co-host, but they struggled to recreate their original chemistry. to recover.

Making amends with Johnny isn’t the only highlight of a troubled lockdown for Denise.

The West End star dislocated her shoulder and suffered three fractures, leading her to withdraw from the ITV series Dancing On Ice for the first episode.

And she’s also spent months working on her amazing autobiography, due out this fall, which will document her 30-year career and her take on high-profile splits with Jamiroquai frontman and former fiancée Jay Kay and ex-husband Lee Mead.

“There will be surprises,” Denise said. “I’m not going to throw people under the bus, but I’ll tell my story and I’ll tell the truth. It’s that simple, I’ll say exactly how it was for me.

“I’ve been in some relationships that have been very public and I haven’t really had a chance to share my feelings about them.”

Denise’s main concern, however, is her one-woman play Some Girl I Used To Know.

The comedy, which she wrote in 2013 and performed in the West End in 2014, has been reshot for a TV audience and will be available to stream over Easter weekend for £10, with a percentage of the profits going to the Make a Difference Trust. .

The play, which Denise says has a touch of “Essex humour,” takes place entirely in a hotel room and revolves around her character reflecting on her life and future after an old flame returns to her life.

Former EastEnders actress Tamsin Outhwaite, 50, directs and Denise performs a musical set with the help of Kylie Minogue’s production team.

Denise said of the piece, ‘I just wanted to be that person who comes out of lockdown and can say they’ve made something, done something good.

“I got pretty sick of influencers constantly flying around the world on lavish vacations and reporting on hotel reviews.

“Don’t get me wrong, I would really like to go on holiday myself, but I haven’t had a holiday at all since the pandemic, like most people.

“But if I’m going to do something with this time, I want it to be something productive.

“Myself and Tam thought, ‘we’ve got a little profile through our television work, it’s up to us to fly the flag to keep the entertainment industry going and the theater going.’

Denise added: ‘Doing this has allowed me to hire a team of people for a short period of time who haven’t worked for a year, so we’ve managed to create some jobs, which is nice.’

Denise Van Outren’s one-woman show, Some Girl I Used To Know, will stream April 2-5. Tickets cost £10 through somegirl.co.uk and profits benefit the Make a Difference Trust.