Denise Van Outen has claimed that offers of TV presenting work have dried up for her now that she has hit 40.
The former Big Breakfast host, who turned 40 last May, reckoned that she had noticed a decline in opportunities as she had got older.
She told The Sun: “As you get older there are fewer opportunities. I was very much the face of the Nineties.”
Denise Van Outen (Dominic Lipinski/PA)
Denise – who has a four-year-old daughter, Betsy, with ex husband Lee Mead – turned down a role on the panel at Loose Women because she didn’t want to end up having to speak about their private arrangements.
She said: “I love the show, but for me it just doesn’t work because I’ve worked so hard to make my situation with Lee work. It wouldn’t feel respectful to talk about him and our daughter on national TV.”
But Denise has landed a new role in EastEnders and is currently in talks about making her character Karin Smart a full-time member of the cast.
She said: “I’d rather be acting now. My roots are East End. I’ve always said I’d one day do it.”
Denise Van Outen has been enjoying playing Karin Smart in EastEnders (BBC)
Earlier this month Countryfile presenter Ellie Harrison, 37, admitted she was worried about being axed in favour of a younger woman.
She explained: “You are hot one year, but completely out of favour the next. I know next year someone will be hot footing it.”
