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'It's nice to have a hit of nostalgia, reminisce a bit'

OK! UK

February 02, 2026

Denise Van Outen shares the highs and lows of her career, from her TV debut in the 90s to her upcoming stage show

- AMY DENMAN

'It's nice to have a hit of nostalgia, reminisce a bit'

Walking into the retro bar where Denise Van Outen is posing up a storm for our exclusive photo shoot is like being transported back in time to a riotous 90s club night. The Bunga 90 bar in London’s Covent Garden is filled with relics from the much-loved decade, from rows of retro TVs lining the bar in bold, neon colours and a giant Tamagotchi hanging on the wall to booths upholstered in retro, carpet-style fabric.

Denise, 51, looks right at home - and why wouldn't she? It's the era in which the Essex-born star shot to fame. She started out in theatre before getting her big TV break co-hosting The Big Breakfast alongside Johnny Vaughan, who she's still close friends with.

“I’m actually meeting Johnny here shortly,” she tells us. “He’s finishing Radio X, then coming over.”

Smiling, the star reveals that she picked the venue and 90s theme because it was her “favourite decade for fun”. She says, “It’s nice to have a hit of nostalgia, reminisce a bit.”

And reminisce we do, as Denise - who is preparing to take a new one-woman show across the UK - casts her mind back over her illustrious career.

The Big Breakfast feels like a fitting place to start. The Channel 4 morning show, which Denise co-hosted with Johnny between 1997 and 2001, was the epitome of chaotic, fun and vibrant 90s telly - broadcast live from a real, gaudily decorated house in East London.

One of her funniest recollections from that time sums up the joyful chaos of the show. “When we did The Big Breakfast there was another channel - defunct now, called L!VE TV - on at exactly the same time and they ended up getting a lot of our guests, and vice One morning I remember everyone running around going, ‘Why is Lionel Blair here? He was meant to do L!VE TV and the taxi brought him to us. We were like, ‘We can’t make him feel uncomfortable’ - but we had no room for him on the show.”