Denise Van Outen and Johnny Vaughan reunited for Channel 4's ‘Packed Lunch’ for the first time in 20 years

They were once one of the biggest presenting duos on TV in the 90s; former Big Breakfast Denise van Outen and Johnny Vaughn delighted fans as they reunited for the first time in 20 years to guest host ‘Steph Mcgowen’s Packed Lunch’. 

The presenters filled in for Steph on Tuesday’s (June 13) episode as she was away. Denise shared a snap of herself and former co-star Johnny looking very happy on her Instagram with the caption “Today presenting @packedlunchc4 with @johnny_vaughan66 was so much fun.”

“First time back on screen together in almost 20 Years. Felt like the old days on ‘The Big Breakfast’. Also, lovely to be reunited with some of our old production team and crew from lock keepers cottages. LEEDS DOCK.”

Fans were over the moon to see the pair back on Channel four presenting together. One person commented on the pic "The pair of you work like a dream just like the old days" whilst another asked if Zig and Zag would be coming back too.

But it wasn’t always happy times for the presenters. After the Big Breakfast, Capital Radio show and a failed BBC series the pair famously fell out and didn’t speak for several years. 

Speaking on the Sweat, Snot and Tears podcast in 2021 Denise revealed that the pair had got back in touch over lock down and had mended their relationship.

Big Breakfast 

Denise and Johnny fell out about a dispute over pay and contracts. Denise opened up about the falling out when she appeared on ITV’s Loose Women in 2017. She said “I had a big fall out with Johnny Vaughan, who I did Big Breakfast with and at that time we were like brother and sister.”

"We were best friends, unbreakable. The whole relationship fell apart when we started to renegotiate our contracts because I always felt we worked together as a team and that’s how it should be.”

Denise explained that the relationship had gone in ‘two different directions’ and was for her ‘tarnished’. 

Capital Radio 

They tried again with their Capital FM Radio show but after their chemistry didn't quite spark as it did at Old Ford Lock years earlier, Denise accused Johnny of turning her microphone down she left after just six months. Denise told the Daily Mail "He wouldn't let me speak, would tell me when I should and shouldn't speak and would also constantly not mention that we were joint presenters. It was always: 'This is Johnny Vaughan, you are listening to Capital Radio,' and there was no mention of my name,"

Passport to Paradise 

In 2004 Denise and Johnny returned to television screens as co-hosts for the BBC One series ‘Passport to Paradise’. The BBC tried to recreate the chemistry between the pair that fans loved so much. But with low ratings the show was axed and the two presenters quickly moved on to other projects, with Johnny Vaughan later joining Absolute Radio, the aforementioned Capital Radio stint and now currently a presenter on Radio X.