Former BBC presenter Steph McGovern has confirmed she will be returning to TV presenting with two new shows, after her daytime show was dramatically axed by Channel 4.
The 43-year-old hosted Steph’s Packed Lunch at the midday slot on the broadcaster until 2023, when the show was taken off the air on account of low viewership and changing linear TV habits.
The show logged 675 episodes as well as a BAFTA nomination, broadcasting daily from Leeds with a magazine-style mix of celebrity interviews, cooking segments and discussion of the day’s headlines.
McGovern has now shared that she will be making an imminent TV presenting return, but this time at her old stomping ground on the BBC.
Taking to Instagram, Steph shared details on the not one, but two brand new BBC programmes she is set to helm.
She wrote: ‘Big work news. I can’t tell you the specifics yet. But it involves hosting 3 shows all out in the next 12 months…
‘1) A brand new series on BBC One daytime (Not a magazine/chat show).
‘2) A brand series on BBC Two evenings (Still not a magazine/chat show).
‘3) A longstanding TV programme that’s been going nearly as long as I have been alive. I AM ABSOLUTELY BUZZING!!!’
Keeping mum on the exact details, she wrote in the caption: ‘Thank you to everyone who has been sending me such lovely messages about my new TV stuff coming up (even though I haven’t told you what they are yet).
‘Sorry for those hoping it would be [Steph’s Packed Lunch] coming back……it’s deffo not that.’
Dragons’ Den star Sara Davies wrote in the comments section: ‘Can’t wait to see you back on our screens more often!!’ as Gogglebox alum Scarlett Moffat added alongside a string of clapping emojis: ‘So glad you’re back.’
What did Steph McGovern say about the Channel 4 axe?
As Steph McGovern walked out of her Channel 4 studio for the final time, she said: ‘I’m not going to waffle on because I can’t say anything emotional without doing that ugly crying.
‘But thank you for watching, thank you for everyone who’s been on the show. I’ve loved it, and I am glad you have to. That is all from us here in Leeds. Look after yourselves, and goodbye!’
The host was then shown walking in direction of a ‘job centre’ sign. She paid tribute to those she worked with in a heartfelt post, as well as highlighting the ‘Northern powerhouse’ the show built.
‘It’s been nearly 5 years since the show idea was pitched to me (I was battling pregnancy sickness and 3am starts on BBC Breakfast at the time),’ she wrote.
‘The dealbreaker for me (after money 🤣) was that the show had to be authentic and reflect the real lives of our viewers AND our workplace had to make everyone feel welcome….whether you were with us for an hour or 4 years.
‘I am so proud of what our amazing team achieved so please allow me a moment to blow their trumpet…
‘In 4 years – we turned a pub in Leeds Dock into a cracking TV studio (after starting the show in my house in lockdown), we employed loads of people from the local area (with many having never worked in telly before), we promoted talented people quickly, we provided work experience to countless people of all ages in all parts of the show (many of them getting jobs from this too) and we gave lots of people their first break presenting on the telly too.
‘We built a Northern powerhouse. And on top of that we put out 675 episodes, got a BAFTA nomination, gave a voice to people/topics that other programmes didn’t and had a proper laugh along the way.
‘Thank you to everyone who made that happen and of course to all of our fabulous viewers who were a crucial part of our dysfunctional family too. The messages we’ve had from you have been incredible.’
Prior to her turn at Channel 4, McGovern was a mainstay on the Beeb, as one of the longtime presenters on BBC Breakfast.
McGovern stepped into the presenting role at Broadcasting House after first answering the phones for Radio 4’s Money Box while at university.
She went on to become a current affairs researcher at the BBC and then the producer of the financial news on the Today programme, before stepping in front of the camera for BBC Breakfast.
Since then, she appeared on the Holly Willoughby-hosted Netflix reality show Celebrity Bear Hunt, which pitted a bunch of celebs against the wiles of Bear Grylls and saw McGovern finish a finalist. She also hosts The Rest Is Money podcast with Robert Peston.
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