I'D NEVER SAY NEVER to Strictly!

TV presenter Steph McGovern talks work, family and why reality shows may well feature in her future

- GEMMA CALVERT

Years before Steph McGovern became a chat-show queen, she was on BBC Radio 2, standing in for the business presenter, when Richard Madeley was covering for host Chris Evans. During a post-show natter with Madeley, one of the now Good Morning Britain anchors planted a seed of wisdom that would eventually rewrite Steph's future.

'Richard was saying I should think about presenting as a career then said, "My one bit of advice is to always take risks in your career." When I left Breakfast, he was in my head,' recalls Steph, who was the lead business reporter on BBC Breakfast for eight years before joining Channel 4 to host her own daytime show, Steph's Packed Lunch.

That risk paid off. This year, the programme landed four television award nominations - including a BAFTA.

When Jo Street, Channel 4's head of daytime and features, described Steph as 'the girl you want to have a beer with, or go for a coffee with, or be mates with', she was on the money. On our cover shoot, Steph instantly blends into team conversation after arriving by taxi bike. She'd come down the day before by train from the North East, where she lives with her partner and their two-and-a-half-year-old daughter.

Later, as we chat in the loft space, overlooking our plant-adorned east London studio, Steph is brimming with brilliant life anecdotes (the time she partied all night with Kylie and Chris Evans before being sent to Downing Street on her day off is particularly hilarious, but more about that later). Nothing about Steph is well-rehearsed, however she diligently holds back any details that could identify her partner or child.

'I don't think it's fair to put them out there because they'll be subject to some of the trolling I get and the pressures of everyone having an opinion on them,' she explains.