Denise Van Outen hosts The Five O'Clock Show with long-time pal Melanie Sykes next week. Here, she talks about early mornings, male makeovers and motherhood... Are you pleased to be hosting The 5 O’Clock Show with Melanie? "We last worked together on The Big Breakfast about 12 years ago. I'm happy to be back presenting and working with someone I get on brilliantly with. This show has got the same feel as The Big Breakfast and it's live!" We bet you're glad it's on at teatime, not breakfast time… "I could do the early mornings when I was younger, but not now. I have early starts with my newborn daughter Betsy, but it's a different tiredness when you’re a mum. It takes a certain type of person to do live TV in the morning." What can viewers expect from you as a duo? "I've always co-presented with men, but this dynamic shouldn't be too different because Mel is quite blokey. We are similar in lots of ways – but, obviously, Mel's very Northern and I'm very Essex!" Will there be lots of fun and games on the show this week? "We're doing male makeovers, which I'm calling Man Doll. I'm looking forward to dressing the men up. We'll also be playing darts and doing a bit of boxing, which isn’t really for me – can you imagine if Mel knocked me out?" And what guests have you got lined up? "We've got Jane Asher, Nick Knowles and Darius Campbell and I'm excited about meeting US singer Kelly Rowland. There's also a performance from new singer Eliza Doolittle, who is in fact the granddaughter of my old stage-school teacher Sylvia Young. I held her when she was Betsy's age. How weird is that?" Talking of Betsy, how do you juggle work and motherhood? "Like this! I just take her everywhere I go. I am enjoying being a mum but it's a massive life change, I can't just think of myself now. Betsy's a bit like Lee [Mead, Denise's husband] – she gets grumpy if she's woken up." What's next for you? "Well, Mel and I have a production company together and, if our stint on this show goes well, we'd like to do something of our own. We're hosting this week to see if it works – but we're mates, so we won't fall out if it doesn't!" *Denise Van Outen and Melanie Sykes host The 5 O’Clock Show from Monday, June 28 at 5pm on Channel 4.
