Denise van Outen
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2007) |
Denise van Outen (born Denise Outen on May 27, 1974) is an English television host and stage actress. Her most famous roles have been as a presenter for The Big Breakfast and as Roxie in the musical Chicago on both West End and Broadway.
Career
Van Outen was born Denise Outen in Basildon, Essex. (The "van" was added later reputedly to give her name an interesting twist, and also to acknowledge her Dutch roots.) She attended the Sylvia Young Theatre School and as a youngster appeared in the chorus of Les Misérables. Her initial stage name was Denise Douglas.
As a teenager she had brief roles on a number of television dramas including Kappatoo. She joined The Big Breakfast on Channel4 as a weather and travel reporter in 1996, and landed the main co-presenting role in 1997. It proved to be her big breakthrough. Her cheeky 'Essex Girl' personality and sexy clothing played off well against the quick wit of Johnny Vaughan and together they recovered audience figures to record levels.
She took a break from presenting the show towards the end of 1998 but returned in 2000 for a further year-long stint in an attempt to boost the ratings, which had tailed off following her departure.
In 1998 and 1999 she acted in episodes of The Bill and The Young Person's Guide To Becoming A Rockstar and appeared in the sitcom Babes in the Wood alongside Karl Howman and Samantha Janus. Earlier on, she starred as Dorothy in a more adult version of The Wizard of Oz. The show's reviews were on the poor side. A brighter spot was her role as Jill in a racy TV version of the children's pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk.
Van Outen has also appeared in film; as Maureen in the crime comedy Love, Honour and Obey and also a cameo tease in the low-key Tube Tales- in one of 4 separate short plays, based on the London Underground.
Van Outen first played Roxie Hart on the stage in the hit musical Chicago at the Adelphi Theatre in the West End of London in April 2001. The marriage of a sexy show with the equally raunchy van Outen proved a hit with theatre-goers, selling out for the entirety of her 20 week run. Unknown in the United States, van Outen received rave reviews when she reprised her role on Broadway for five weeks in the spring of 2002, before returning to the show's London version in late April 2002.
In 2003, she returned to the London stage at the Gielgud Theatre in Andrew Lloyd Webber's one-woman show Tell Me On A Sunday, which he reworked for her. She was a huge success and the show ran for nearly a year before embarking on a 10-month UK tour in 2004.
In mid-2005 van Outen co-presented ITV1's This Morning with Richard Bacon. She then joined the cast of the established ITV sentimental drama Where the Heart Is as one of the lead characters but stayed for only one series. She hosted one show of The Friday Night Project in January 2006.
In November 2006, she hosted Sky One's "The Race" - set at Silverstone Circuit - in which a celebrity Girls Team headed by David Coulthard raced against a celebrity Boys Team headed by Eddie Irvine.
In December 2006, she hosted the National Lottery Christmas draw.
Van Outen had been set to present How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? in 2006, a programme searching for a girl to play the role of Maria in The Sound of Music, but pulled out of that in favour of seeking fame in America [1]. She presented NBC's Grease: You're the One that I Want!, a spin-off version of Maria, which was presented, instead, by Irish comedian Graham Norton
In 2007, she joined John Barrowman the panel for BBC One's spin-off from Maria, Any Dream Will Do!, again presented by Norton, which was casting Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
After viewers on 9 June 2007 voted Lee Mead as the winner of Any Dream Will Do! - to play the role of Joseph in a revival at London's Adelphi Theatre of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat van Outen said: "From the very beginning right through to the very end,Lee has been the most consistent out of all the contestants. He has the ability to make even really popular songs his own and he has his own unique style of performing. The next time he lands a role as a leading man, can he put me forward to be the leading lady?" [1]
She has guested on The Charlotte Church Show, on Channel 4, as a sidekick to Charlotte Church. She was one of the judges at the Miss World pageant in Warsaw, Poland.
In July 2007 she appeared in a commercial advertising the rebranding of Morrison's supermarket.
Personal life
Van Outen's personal life has been subjected to the sharp glare of the British tabloid media. She had a relationship with convicted paedophile rock star Gary Glitter in the early 1990s.[2]
Later that decade, she dated Jamiroquai lead singer Jay Kay. They were reported to be on the verge of marriage, but split up in 2001.
In 2003, she was reported to have been attached to lap dance club owner Richard Traviss, but split up with him in May 2005 after three years. She moved out of the Marylebone home they shared and into her own flat in north London.
Van Outen has lent her support to design limited edition T-shirts or vests for the 'Little Tee Campaign' for Breast Cancer Care which donates money for breast cancer research[3].
She has apperently been cut/injected to ribbons for the new, admittedly well put-together, Morrisons advert.