Saturday, 12 January 2008

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Denise Van Outen: I didn't date Lee Mead until he'd been single 3 months

Any Dream Will Do judge denies stealing the star from his girlfriend

Denise Van Outen is keen to point out she didn't steal Joseph star Lee Mead from his ex.

The pair met when they both starred in BBC reality show Any Dream Will Do - she was a judge and he was contestant.

'He’s gorgeous,' Denise announced when she first spotted the curly-haired 26-year-old from Essex. But there was no smooching while the show was on.

‘There is quite a divide between the judges and contestants,' Denise, 33, tells The Sun, 'you have to be professional ’

Denise became single after being dumped by actor James Lance but Lee was still in a serious relationship with dancer Kerry Stammers.

'They were broken up for three months before anything happened between us,' Denise insists. Then their romance slowly took off.

'We kept it quiet – but not that quiet. We were kissing and walking down the street holding hands.

'He was coming to see me on stage when I was in Rent. I couldn’t believe no one found out earlier.'

Denise is keen to get married and have kids but doesn't 'want to scare anyone off'. In the meantime, she's enjoying her new relationship.

'I love having a boyfriend,' she admits, 'it's great having someone to snuggle up to in bed at night.'