Denise Van Outen on dating as a mum: “if they disapprove, you’ll know”
Happy Mum
Giovanna Fletcher
4.8 • 5.8K Ratings
🗓️ 27 January 2026
⏱️ 62 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
National treasure of stage and screen Denise Van Outen joins Giovanna this week!
Denise and Gi chat about their stagey childhoods and the impact motherhood has had on their careers in the performing arts.
Plus, Denise opens up about her relationship with ex-partner Lee Mead and how they successfully co-parent their daughter, Betsy.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Denise is a bit hungover. |
| 0:02.5 | It's not going. Why is it so, you never does that. |
| 0:04.5 | It's actually going, but it's going mental. |
| 0:07.0 | Like literally, it's like I've got a full, it's like I've got diversity doing a show in my stomach. |
| 0:12.3 | Like, it's literally making so many strange noises. |
| 0:16.4 | Hello and welcome to a brand new episode of Happy Mum, Happy Baby, the podcast. |
| 0:20.8 | Today's guest is someone who I woke up with a lot in the 90s. |
| 0:25.5 | But she was one of the hosts of The Big Breakfast. |
| 0:28.9 | She's an amazing actress, an amazing singer. |
| 0:31.5 | She's also mum to a teenage daughter. |
| 0:34.7 | It's Denise Van Outen. |
| 0:35.9 | Oh, thank you. |
| 0:37.0 | What a lovely intro. |
| 0:38.3 | That was lovely. |
| 0:38.8 | Well, I did. |
| 0:39.7 | I mean, a lot of us grew up with you in the 90s, you know. |
| 0:42.1 | It's always funny when people go, I grew up with you in the 90s because then it just makes me feel really old. I love it. I do get it. I know. my kids and stuff doing things like egg on your face and then just not really like not knowing where it comes from |
| 0:54.3 | not knowing where the origins of that sort of thing comes from yeah but it's you you brought so |
| 0:59.1 | much joy into the mornings oh thank you do you know what I have to say it was the best time |
| 1:04.4 | and whenever I bump into people that I worked with on the show or even crew members yeah they're |
| 1:09.6 | all now like you know running the BBC or Netflix you know, they've all gone up the ranks. But it's just, we've just got such a love for that show, you know, just the memories from it and the friendships that we made. And three in particular, who were crew members, I still meet them every year. We do once a year get together. and we've watched our kids grow up together and we just always talk about those days |
| 1:31.4 | it was just, it was wild and just fun. It felt like the house that everyone wanted to be in. Yes. And it's a real house. That's crazy. I know. And it's, I think it's been on the market recently for ridiculous amount of money. but yeah I do think I I'd quite like to go and have a sneaky viewing just to see what they've done with the place. |
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