Steph McGovern has said a fond farewell to a colleague she claims to have “stolen” from the BBC, after the duo met while they were both working on BBC Breakfast.
On Friday (November 10) the star took to her Instagram stories to pay tribute to Steph’s Packed Lunch producer, Danielle Hayden.
Sharing an on-set photograph of her Channel 4 colleague cheekily doing a rude hand gesture to the camera, Steph, 41, told her 121,000 Instagram followers: “One of my favourite people on the planet is producing her last @packedlunch4 show today.
“I stole @danielleayd from the BBC after many years working together on Breakfast.”
Underneath the picture of Danielle, Steph continued: “Ps. It’s also her 30th b’day today. God damn her for being so young, so talented, so funny… and so unbelievably rude.”
Read more Steph McGovern makes plea to Packed Lunch viewers after show axed
The goodbye post comes just weeks after it was announced that Steph’s lunchtime talk show was to be axed.
After three years on air, Channel 4 has pulled the plug, while a spokesperson claimed the broadcaster was still “incredibly proud” of all Steph’s Packed Lunch has achieved.
They continued: “Steph has not only made the nation’s lunchtimes more entertaining and brilliantly reflected the views and pre-occupations of the country, but the show has also been an outstanding springboard for developing local talent behind the scenes.
“However, with audience habits changing quicker than ever, we have to make difficult decisions about which programmes to invest in to best drive our digital-first strategy and we have decided not to recommission Steph’s Packed Lunch when its existing production contract ends in December 2023.”
As well as hosting the chat show, Steph has previously worked as a presenter on BBC Radio 5 Live and on BBC Breakfast between 2010-2019.
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Following the news that Channel 4 would not be recommissioning Steph’s Packed Lunch, stars such as Simon Rimmer and Strictly Come Dancing’s Oti Mabuse have paid tribute.
The Sunday Brunch star posted to his 183,000 Instagram followers in October and wrote: “You’ve probably heard that @packedlunchc4 is finishing in December [and] I’m gutted.”
After saying the lunchtime staple was “such a fun show”, he paid tribute to his “screen wife”, Steph.
“Big love and thanks to you all and especially to my screen wife @stephlunch who makes me laugh (and cry) every day x.”
Elsewhere, Oti, 33, spoke about the Leeds-based series on her social media platform.
In October, she shared a carousel of images from her time on the show with her 682,000 followers.
In the caption, she wrote: “My little 2 cents about @packedlunchc4 and @stephlunch herself as a huge light in my life.
“This show shot all the way in Leeds came into my life 4 years ago and completely changed it, the culture amongst the presenters, crew, production and audience is like no other.”
She then went on to praise the 41-year-old host, calling her an “impeccable header” and the “kindest hearted women you’ll ever meet in show business.”
At the end of the caption, the mother-of-one added: “I’ve gone on to have my own daytime show since and that’s because this show and it’s team nurtured and instilled something in me that can never be broken or dulled.”
“To this day Steph mentors me through my own show, the producer John is now my director on my show and the spirit of Packed Lunch lives on in me.”
Tune into Steph’s Packed Lunch every weekday on Channel 4 at 12pm.
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