Denise Van Outen Admits 'Strictly Come Dancing' Was 'Hard' On Family Life (EXCLUSIVE)

Denise Van Outen's 'Strictly' Confession

'Strictly Come Dancing' runner-up Denise Van Outen has confessed her time on the show was "hard" on her family life.

Speaking to The Huffington Post UK, Van Outen, who married 'Any Dream Will Do' winner Lee Mead in 2009 and now has a two-year-old daughter, said: "You're trying to juggle being a working parent with the amount of time you have to dedicate to a show like that."

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However, the presenter and performer doesn't regret taking part in the show, and insists she's kept in touch with everyone - including her dance partner James Jordan and joint runner-up Kimberley Walsh.

"We've just finished the 'Strictly' arena tour, we all got on brilliantly and hung out together. You spend so much time together, even with the other celebrities. I spent loads of time with Kimberley Walsh and all the crew, it's like a little family."

Van Outen said the show has bonded her with the Girls Aloud star, adding: "Being in the final and sharing the joint runner-up prize meant we've done two big things in our lives together - climbed Kilimanjaro for Comic Relief and did 'Strictly'."

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This week it was announced Van Outen will make her first return to radio since she quit her Capital FM breakfast show with Johnny Vaughan in 2008, with a new show on Magic FM, something which she's "excited about".

But don't expect any musical numbers from the stage star. She confirmed "I don't think they'll be going in there, it's not really that sort of station."

Instead she's looking forward to "playing a real mix of George Michael, Phil Collins and artists that, when I was growing up, were really big".

She added: "It's really great because, a lot of other stations, you just wouldn't get that."

Asked what she thinks about critics who have questioned what she knows about music, she said: "I'd say I know a lot about music, that's the thing that people don't know about me.

"It's different if I was doing something like Radio 1 where you have to know all the latest, new current bands, but every artist that's played on Magic I know them because they're the ones my parents listened to when I was growing up, they're what I listened to when I was growing up."

"It suits me and my age, it's the perfect fit. What do you have to know about music to know what a good song is and what a good artist is?" she added.

Denise Van Outen will begin her new Saturday show on Magic 105.4 between 1pm and 3pm from 30 March.