Denise Van Outen

She sings, she acts and now she’s poised to show just how well she can dance, as Broadway and West End star Denise Van Outen dons sequins and takes to the floor for this year’s Strictly Come Dancing.

Denise took to the limelight at a young age, attending the Sylvia Young Theatre School and in 1986, at the tender age of 12, played Eponine in Les Misérables. Denise began appearing on British screens in her teens, in a number of television dramas including The Bill.

But it wasn’t until she landed a co-presenter role with Johnny Vaughan on The Big Breakfast in 1997 that she became a household name; just one year after joining the show as the weather and travel presenter.

In 2001, Denise took on the role of Roxie Hart in the hit musical Chicago at the Adelphi Theatre in London, which sold out for its entire 20 week run.

Following her successful stint in the West End, Denise hopped stateside to reprise her role on Broadway in the spring of 2002.

In 2007, whilst working as a judge on the panel of BBC One’s Any Dream Will Do, Denise met contestant Lee Mead, who went on to win the competition. The two married in 2009 and have a daughter, Betsy. Denise is not only familiar with the lights and tension of the dance floor; she is also no stranger to some of the other celebrity contestants, having climbed Mt Kilimanjaro with Kimberley Walsh for Comic Relief in 2009.