Iconic 90s duo confirm TV return after putting bitter feud that ruined their friendship behind them
DENISE Van Outen is reuniting with her former partner in crime, Johnny Vaughan, on the new series of Celebrity Gogglebox.
The pair first found fame together in the 90s as the dynamic duo of Channel 4’s The Big Breakfast, bringing effortless chemistry and cheeky banter to early morning TV.
However, their friendship ended in 1999 when a pay row ultimately caused Denise to quit the series, with their on/off feud continuing ever since.
But it seems like they buried the hatchet once and for all, and after an appearance last year on Steph’s Packed Lunch, they’ll be curled up on the sofa together for the latest Celebrity Gogglebox.
Speaking to The Sun’s TV Mag, the pair teased that despite the row, their banter hasn’t gone anywhere – although Denise said they now more like “an old divorced couple that have had to go to their child’s wedding.”
Denise, who has previously appeared on Gogglebox with Blue’s Duncan James and ex-boyfriend Eddie Boxshall, said: “I’ve been asking for years for Johnny to do it! I really genuinely have.
“I wanted to do it with him all along. But I’m pleased that finally we’re able to do this!,” she added.
On their legacy of The Big Breakfast, Johnny added: “It’s about a time, though, isn’t it? What they’re missing. When you look back, it was pretty lively and edgy, but it’s about a time.
“When people say: ‘Bring back Big Breakfast!’ it’s a bit like saying: ‘Bring back [the arcade game] Street Fighter II’. There’s lots of new video games now.
“Yes, everyone’s got affection for it and you might get together with a friend and talk about it, but it’s not going to replace the stuff that’s there already.
“It’s about a time and a place – it was good back then. But whatever Denise and I do next has to be now.”
The pair also teased there could be future projects together in the works beyond Celebrity Gogglebox.
Touching on burying their feud, Denise said: “There’s something about when you have history with someone – it’s a very different thing.
“We went through the same thing together on the show we worked on and we both became known in the public eye at the same time, so it was like a band forming.
“We both had the same experiences and you don’t get to share that with other people. So it’s a lot to do with that as well. And also we laugh a lot together.”
Read the full interview in The Sun’s TV Mag, available Sundays.