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HEATING IS ON
How to heat your home for less this winter by ‘female Martin Lewis’ Denise Van Outen as she launches new show
Denise now fronts a series of consumer programmes for Channel 4 including Airfryers, Are They Worth
IT’S been nearly three decades since Denise Van Outen first fired up daytime TV on The Big Breakfast.
But she’s still hot property thanks to a career turn that’s made her the unlikely new cash queen of Britain.
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Denise now fronts a series of consumer programmes for Channel 4 including Airfryers, Are They Worth It and Secrets of the Supermarket Own-Brands and tomorrow will launch her latest - How to Heat Your Home For Less This Winter.
It’s a long way from her Nineties pin-up days when she’d film in strappy dresses, but she couldn’t be happier.
Denise, 50, told me: “That's all changed. Now you catch me in a chunky, knitted jumper - who'd have thought!
“I was in my early 20s when I first came into the public eye but it's nice there's an audience where we've all grown up together.”
It might seem hard to believe, but Denise really does live and breathe her new chapter.
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Filming her latest series had such a profound effect on her, she now spontaneously carries out heat hacks when she visits her pals.
She said: “I've got a radiator key ring attached to my car key and I've been going to my friends' houses and bleeding their radiators, it's hilarious.
“I've never really done that before and a couple of my mates like me, they're single parents and they're women ,you know, and it's not something you think of doing.
“And I'm like, oh the top of your radiator's not as hot as it should be, I've got a solution.”
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Since her first consumer series in November 2022 Denise has explored how to make savings on the food shop as well as diving into the air fryer trend.
But she thinks her new special on heating will be the most important yet.
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Denise said: “Yesterday I was in the supermarket and a mother was doing the usual British, hasn't it turned cold sort of thing and she said I haven't even put my heating on yet because I can't afford it.
“She said, we've been wrapping ourselves in blankets and trying to keep warm.
“It's a serious thing. It actually really upset me.”
Her new chapter has seen Denise likened to money saving champion Martin Lewis.
She laughed: “I'm sure we're not in competition with each other. I'm no threat to Martin!”
But Denise reckons there’s so many amazing tips in her show, they could have made a whole series.
She added: “Basically small adjustments can make big, big savings.
“Do what I do, go around and help a neighbour and help a friend by bleeding radiators!
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“I'm available if anyone wants me.”
- How to Heat Your Home for Less this Winter on Channel 4, Thursday December 5 at 8pm
Denise’s simple changes to make right now to save you hundreds
- Boiling a kettle can cost 6p, so a hot water bottle might not be your cheapest fix
- Make simple draft excluders to pop under your doors by stuffing a pillowcase
- If you don’t use your chimney, plug it with a chimney balloon or even an old duvet to stop heat escaping
- If you have a boiler, look for the radiator symbol and turn the dial to around 60 degrees. This could save you up to £200 a year.
- Bleed your radiators by letting air out as even the tiniest bit of air will lower its heat output by 30 per cent
- If you have a room thermostat, every single degree you turn the temp down by will save you
- Look on the government website to see your property’s Energy Performance Certificate and assess ways to make changes
- Then check out the Home Upgrade Scheme online to see if you’re eligible for funds to help improve your property’s efficiency
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