Actress, singer and dancer Denise van Outenhas been the queen of the West End for decades - but have you ever wondered where she gets her energy from? The 46-year-old Dancing On Ice star, who is a mum to Betsy, 11, enjoys a balanced lifestyle and healthy diet, and doesn't deny herself the odd treat.
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Denise has joined forces with belVita for a new musical performance to herald the start of brighter days for the UK theatre community. After such a tough year for performers due to the pandemic, Denise hopes that the collaboration will mark the start of a positive change.
Taking to the streets of the West End, Denise performed an original track which will be released on Monday 10th May, with money raised being donated to Acting for Others, a charity that provides financial and emotional support to theatre workers in times of need.
WATCH: Behind the scenes of Denise van Outen's new musical performance
Speaking exclusively to HELLO! prior to the show, Denise explained: "Tomorrow for me is the first time I'm going to be performing in front of people, and it's going to be on the street so that’s going to be quite interesting because it's not in a theatre. But that for me will be the nice warm-up for getting back into the West End, and I think for all of us in this campaign, all of the actors who have been out of work for the past year and not performed in West End shows, we all feel like tomorrow marks that it’s a positive day whatever the weather is going to be, because it's us saying the West End is still here and we are back."
MORE: Denise Van Outen quits Dancing on Ice after shock injury
The star went on to reveal what food she tends to reach for on a daily basis, and how she stays in such great shape when preparing for a live performance. Read on to find out more…
© Photo: HELLO!Denise revealed how she stays in shape when appearing on stage
What does Denise van Outen eat for breakfast?
"Well, I'm always on the go so I don’t eat early in the mornings, I don’t wake up hungry and I'm always rushing around, like now I've just done the school run and then I'm straight into work mode! So that’s why the belVita bars for me have been amazing because I tend to do a lot of driving. I live in Essex and have to drive into London so they’ve got the new baked bar which is just delicious. I just have that in my bag and then whether I'm on a train or in a car, it gives me chance to just quickly snack on it, then I will have a quick read of whatever script I've got to learn or my notes and itinerary for the day."
What does Denise van Outen eat for lunch?
With Denise's busy schedule, her lunch can vary from day to day. The star revealed: "I tend to just adapt to wherever I am", explaining that she tends to pick up a healthy lunch from a nearby cafe depending on where she is working that day. Keeping fit and healthy is super important to Denise, especially when she has an upcoming performance.
"I just really try to start to look after myself, so I cut down all my alcohol intake because I have to look after my voice. I try to eat really healthy, I start to take more vitamins. I had an injury on Dancing on Ice which was all publicised so I've had to really make sure to try and take all my fish oils and calcium because I cut out a lot of my dairy from my diet about two years ago. But just regular exercise really, keeping myself busy. One of the things that did come out of lockdown is that I think as a family we tend to do more exercise together than we did before, partly because Eddie's been at home and Betsy was off school doing home school it meant that we set aside time every day to go for a really long walk or a cycle and actually we've fallen back in love with the exercises, I haven’t cycled properly since I was a kid and I started loving cycling again."
© Photo: HELLO!The star makes sure to eat lots of healthy foods prior to performances
What does Denise van Outen eat for dinner?
"In the evenings, if I'm in London, a real treat for me is to have a takeaway sushi, but a lot of places have been closed so it's been a lot of home cooking as well.
"Sometimes, if I'm in a real rush or I'm absolutely shattered and I've had a long day a takeaway fish and chips will do!"
We love that Denise treats herself to a takeaway now and again, however she also enjoys cooking at home, and told HELLO! that her kitchen is her favourite room in the house!
When discussing why she loves her kitchen so much, Denise said: "During lockdown Eddie can DJ so he took his decks in there and we had a few kitchen discos, just the two of us. My kitchen discos with Eddie were probably one of my fondest memories that I will always look back on in lockdown and think we had a lot of fun."
Denise van Outen has teamed up with belVita to herald brighter days ahead of theatres reopening, with a brand new musical show, live on the streets of the West End. To see the cast in action, visit here. 'Brighter Days' is now available to download on iTunes here with proceeds going to Acting for Others.
Visit belvita-brightside.co.uk to try a belVita Baked Bar for free and bring out your bright side when it’s cloudy!
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