Channel 4 viewers go wild as Big Breakfast legends reunite after 20 years to present Steph’s Packed Lunch

THE original Big Breakfast team were reunited on Channel 4 today – and fans loved it.

Johnny Vaughan and Denise Van Outen fronted The Big Breakfast during the 90s and had a long-running feud.

However, they began talking again during lockdown and today took over the hosting of Steph’s Packed Lunch.

The pair brought back the chaotic atmosphere of the original, live arm-wrestling, and even one of their old games, More Tea Vicar.

They were also joined on Channel 4 by the original Big Breakfast newsreader Phil Gayle.

One viewer wrote: “The chemistry of Johnny, Denise and Phil Gayle is still incredible. If channel 4 don’t bring back something hosted by them, they’re missing an absolute sitter.”

Another agreed: “Brilliant to see Johnny and Denise on #stephspackedlunch Give them their own show.”

A third said: “Can Johnny and Denise host everyday please!!! This is like the old days.”

The pair were joined by Mo Gilligan, who fronted the rebooted Big Breakfast with AJ Odudu.

Johnny and Denise were one of The Big Breakfast‘s most successful double-acts, hosting together from 1997 to 1998 and again from 2000 till 2001.

Denise opened up about her falling-out with Johnny – which came after their 2008 radio show, on the Sweat, Snot and Tears podcast two years ago.

She explained: “We have been speaking a lot recently. We’ve been on-and-off as friends for years for various reasons.”

She added: “I’ve got a lot of love for him as a person, as a friend, and I’m sure he feels the same.

“And we’ve started sort of talking again and we’ve started thinking of maybe some little ideas, so you never know.”

Denise previously said they fell out after finding out his agent was trying to get him more money in contract renegotiations.

She told Loose Women: “I had a big fall out with Johnny Vaughan, who I did Big Breakfast with and at that time we were like brother and sister. We were best friends – unbreakable.

“The whole relationship fell apart when we started to renegotiate our contracts because I always felt we worked together as a team and that’s how it should be.

“We created it together. Not just us but the rest of the team working on the show.  I always had that mentality that it was about all of us.

“But Johnny – and I know there are other influences involved, and agents and everything – but he was negotiating separately from me, which I found out and obviously confronted him.

“I realised then at that point that our friendship had gone in two different directions and for me it was tarnished.”