Exclusive:
Denise van Outen stated that Ant and Dec, along with Davina Mcall, were present on the Big Breakfast before Johnny Vaughan was selected
Video unavailable
Saturday Night Takeaway: Ant and Dec cancel show
Denise van Outen, the former show-host, said that Ant McPartlin had put Dec Donnelly in the running for The Big Breakfast’s presenter slot.
47-year old TV presenter said that the trial had failed. “didn’t work out”Both were 46 and Dec respectively, but Davina McCall (54), was not made full-time.
Denise said she was involved in the selection of Rick Adams, 50 (for the late 90s) – and chose Johnny Vaughan 55.
From 1997 to 1999, she hosted the Channel 4 program with Adams and primarily with Vaughan. She returned to the show as co-host in 2000.
She spoke out about the departure of her first co-host on the show and said: “When my co-presenter Rick Adams left the show, I held the fort down on my own for a while.”
Denise explained: “Sometimes [I would be] working with various guest presenters with a view to them becoming permanent if the chemistry between us was right.
“We had Ant & Dec on, which didn’t work out – with two of them and one of me. We had Davina McCall who was great, but the producers preferred a combination of one girl and one boy.”
Do you enjoy reading about celebrities? Sign up for all the best celeb news from the Mirror here .
Denise opened up about the programme in her new memoir A Bit of Me – which was released earlier this month – and said that she stumbled upon Vaughan on a late night show.
She writes: Johnny was doing a sketch about Reebok Classic trainers. He made me cry with laughter.
“I called Waheed. [Alli, The Big Breakfast co-creator]. “I’ve been watching Johnny Vaughan, this guy on TV. He’s hilarious. He must be convinced to give it a try.
Vaughan’s West End star stated that producers were aware of Vaughan.”
The Big Breakfast ran on Channel 4 for a decade, with it broadcast from 1992 until 2002. It was produced by Planet 24, which was co-owned by musician Sir Bob Geldof, 70.
Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at webcelebs@mirror.co.uk or call us direct 0207 29 33033.
