Den: Johnny betrayed me

He went behind my back for Brekkie pay rise

DENISE van Outen has told how she fell out with Big Breakfast co-host Johnny Vaughan over pay while on the show.

The pair shot to fame as the presenters on the Channel 4 hit, but Denise has said she quit in 1999 when she felt their relationship would not be the same again.

She said: “You put so much trust in a person... I had a big fall-out with Johnny Vaughan...

“At that particular time, we were literally like brother and sister, we were best friends, unbreakable. The whole rela-

BEST FRIENDS Together in 98

tionship fell apart when we started to renegotiate our contracts, because I always felt we worked together as a team and that is how it should be.

“We created it together and not just us, the rest of the team working on the show. I always had that mentality – that it’s about all of us.”

The star, 43, added: “I know there were other influences involved and agents, and everything, but he was negotiating separately from me... I obviously confronted him and I realised then our friendship had gone in two different directions and for me it was tarnished – and that is why I left the show.

“I knew at that point it would never be the same.”

Vaughan, 51, now presents the drivetime show on Radio X and was unavailable for comment last night.