Denise van Outen, 46, is confirmed for the new series of Dancing on Ice – joining 11 other celebrities taking part.
The ITV series DOI, which is just days away from airing, pits Denise against the likes of Colin Jackson, Graham Bell, Sonny Jay, Jason Donovan, Faye Brooks, Joe-Warren Plant and Myleene Klass.
But just who is Denise? And what is she famous for?
Who Is Denise van Outen?
Denise presents, sings and acts. She’s appeared on Celebrity Gogglebox, The Masked Singer and voices on TOWIE.
She joins 12 celebrities taking part in Dancing on Ice 2021.
The presenter said: “I’m really excited, I can’t believe it and finally I get to tell people!”
Denise added: “Hopefully I’ll be able to skate because I literally cannot stand up on ice and every time I’ve taken Betsy at Christmas time to a rink I’ve been the one on the penguin!
“After the year we’ve all had it’s going to be lovely and refreshing to see a bit of sparkle, a bit of glamour and see us all happy and smiling enjoying ourselves on the ice.”
Who has Denise dated?
Denise dated Jamiroquai singer Jay Kay and was engaged to him for a short time.
She and Jay Kay went their separate ways in 2001, blaming their busy schedules.
Denise has since admitted she didn’t take the split well and lost lots of weight as a result.
She said: “Around the time I did Chicago, I went down to a size six but I was dancing a lot. I was doing a lot of shows, I’d split up with my boyfriend, I had a lot going on in my life.”
Jay Kay was so upset by their break up he wrote about it on the album A Funk Odyssey.
Denise fell for Lee Mead, when she was a judge on the BBC’s talent show Any Dream Will Do.
Lee won the show, and Denise’s heart – they married in 2009 in the Seychelles and had daughter Betsy, now 10.
Denise and Lee split in 2013.
Who is boyfriend Eddie Boxhall?
Eddie has appeared on Celebrity Gogglebox alongside Denise.
Eddie is a commodities trader specialising in the oil industry.
He wants children with Denise, even though he has two kids from a previous relationship.
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She has said “Eddie gets really broody. He would have one tomorrow if he could.”
Denise has ruled out the idea of having more kids because she thinks she’s missed her biological chance.
She said in 2018: “I would have more kids but I’m 44. Eddie has two kids already and they are grown up. If it happened, then fine, but I think probably all my eggs are shrivelled up.”
Why did Denise Van Outen fall out with Johnny Vaughan?
Denise fell out with former best mate Johnny Vaughan over money.
The pair presented Big Breakfast together in the 90s and even recorded a charity single together.
She revealed: “We were proper mates. I laughed every day. We used to laugh to the point where I was going to wet myself. Then things happened and we’ve had fallouts along the way.
“When the show became successful and we were negotiating contracts I thought we were doing it as a team but his agent had other ideas and she got him more money and there were all those arguments that happens with bands and presenters.”
They were reunited on Capital Radio, co-hosting the station’s flagship Breakfast Show, but the magic was no longer there and the pair fell out.
Denise quit after six months and claimed her one-time pal had “sabotaged” her career by fading her microphone down when she went to talk.
She and Johnny patched up their differences in 2015.
Where did Denise grow up?
Denise was born on 27 May 1974 in Basildon, Essex, and studied at Sylvia Young stage school.
She has modelled for knitting patterns, appeared on the West End stage in Les Miserables and was one half of 90s girl band Those Two Girls.
She hit the West End and Broadway as Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago and even appeared in her own one woman show Some Girl I Used To Know.
More recently she starred in Neighbours.
When is Denise van Outen on Dancing on Ice?
Denise will debut on Dancing on Ice with her dance partner Matt Evers on week one.
Dancing On Ice starts on Sunday January 17 on ITV1 at 6pm.
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