In an exclusive behind-the-scenes photoshoot ahead of her debut in the West End show Legally Blonde, Denise Van Outen has given a frank, exclusive interview to HELLO! magazine. The star has quickly regained her svelte figure since giving birth to daughter Betsy six months ago and wants to make clear that her toned stomach is not the result of using a “miracle” cream.
It was widely reported that Denise had used a Nip + Fab lotion on her tummy. “I’d never even heard of the cream until then,” she tells HELLO!. “I had messages on Twitter from people saying: ‘Oh, that cream sounds amazing, I’ve ordered some.’ That really annoyed me.
“I lost weight by doing gentle exercise,” said Denise, who started going on long walks a week after Betsy’s Caesarean birth. “I surprised myself by how quickly it fell off but my sister is the same. Part of it is genetic. A cream can’t do that, so don’t be fooled.” She also ate carefully throughout her pregnancy. After recently completing a Breast Cancer Care charity trek in Peru, Denise is at peak fitness and “itching to get back” to work.
Legally Blonde will be her first full-time job since having Betsy, although she has already taken part in photoshoots and had a week-long stint presenting The Five O’Clock Show with friend Melanie Sykes this summer. “I went back to work quite quickly, but my daughter isn’t suffering in any way,” she says. “She’s got a really fantastic bond with her dad and we’ve shared our parenting responsibilities.”
Lee was left in charge of Betsy while Denise was in Peru. “He had the most amazing week with her. He said: ‘I really feel that I’ve bonded with her now. He was quite honest about the fact that he found the first three months quite hard. Because you’re a mum, you naturally do everything, and sometimes dads can feel pushed out.”
Wicked star Lee, who met Denise when he won Any Dream Will Do in 2007 and she was a judge on the show, is a doting dad. “He sings to her and she melts,” said Denise. Lee bottle-fed Betsy while Denise was away, and the actress spoke of the response she had to giving up breastfeeding after a month. She received a letter from NHS Eastern and Coastal Kent encouraging her to return to breastfeeding and said that it can help new mothers lose weight.
Denise was angry at the presumptions they made. “They had no idea what my mental state was,” she said. I could have been really depressed. A lot of women have thanked me for speaking out.”