New Mom Denise Van Outen on Bending & Snapping in London's Legally Blonde

She’s hosted breakfast television in the UK as well as a Broadway-related reality show (Grease: You’re The One That I Want). But Denise Van Outen is also a dedicated theater performer, with credits ranging from Mustardseed in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Barbican (when she was 14) to Tell Me On A Sunday, Rent Remixed and Chicago, the latter as Roxie Hart both in London and on Broadway. The 36-year-old star is back on the West End through April, having succeeded Jill Halfpenny as sassy manicurist Paulette in Legally Blonde at the Savoy Theatre. Across town, her husband, Lee Mead, the recent Dreamcoat-wearing Joseph, is appearing as Fiyero in Wicked. Broadway.com caught up with the engaging Van Outen one recent afternoon not long after she had settled her seven-month-old daughter, Betsy, down for a nap.

Both you and Lee are back on the West End—and as new parents, no less!
Lee’s return was slightly more planned than mine. He was doing his play [Oscar Wilde’s Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime] on tour around the time I was pregnant, and he said that for his next job he wanted to be based in London because of the baby. Wicked was the perfect opportunity to be at home during the day and then do the show at night. I’d been in talks to do Paulette when Legally Blonde first opened here, but we knew that it wouldn’t be very professional for me to accept a job and than have to leave.

So, what made you decide to join Legally Blonde as a replacement?
I went to see it on press night and absolutely loved it. I was quite surprised, I have to say, because I hadn’t heard great things about it. I’ve got an American agent, and when I was first in talks, they were like, “Don’t do it; it hasn’t been the hit they were hoping.” But Sheridan [Smith as] Elle brought something special to the role, and I was sitting next to David Tennant going, “This is everything you could want from a musical, especially when the mood of the nation is quite downbeat; it’s the perfect tonic.” I thought, if they recast, I would love to do a short run as Paulette— and here I am.

It’s nice that Paulette doesn’t have to carry the show. She can just come in and have fun.
It’s the perfect role for me as a new mum because it’s not too demanding, and my daughter is in a nice little routine now. I thought that for Lee and me to be working the same hours would benefit us as a married couple. What was happening before was that Lee was coming in [from Wicked] buzzing and I was saying, “Turn the TV off, I want to sleep.” Now we’re both buzzing at the same time. I like to say that doing Legally Blonde has saved our marriage [laughs].

Sleep must still be at something of a premium for both of you.
The only down side is that I get home late, Lee and I have a chat and watch a little bit of TV and have something to eat and unwind, and by that point it’s 1:30 or 2 AM. And there I am up at 6:30 or 7 being a mum. We’re lucky that Betsy sleeps right through the night, but there are people in the show who go, “I’m so tired—I had to get up at 10.” And I’m like, “That sounds nice!” But I’m in a good place, and I love the show.

Did you get rehearsal time with [director/choreographer] Jerry Mitchell?
To be honest, I had very limited time to learn the show. I was off trekking in Peru for breast cancer care and missed nearly two weeks’ rehearsal, so I came in at the end and had to learn everything in about 10 days. What’s good about Paulette is that whoever plays the role can do pretty much what they want, whereas there’s slightly more of a formula to Elle. I watched Jill [Halfpenny] and thought she was lovely, but I think I’ve made the character a little trashier—more trailer trash [laughs].

Is your daughter developing a knowledge of show tunes?
Betsy does love Glee. It’s quite funny! Around the time I had her, I got two calls: One was from the Shrek company asking to see me for Princess Fiona and the other was about Paulette. I’d already seen and fallen in love with Legally Blonde, but I was sent the music for Shrek and every time I put it on, the baby cried. They kept saying to me, “Don’t you want to do it?” and I said, “I can’t; the baby doesn’t like it.”

Was Wicked an option, so you and Lee could be in the same show?
I love Wicked, and I’d love to play Glinda—Gah-linda! But, you know, we’ve avoided courting the press as a couple and doing ads together. We’ve been offered our own reality TV show and have said no because we like to keep our careers separate. But if the roles were right, never say never—though we’d probably be arguing all the time! [Laughs.]

Working in America again is always a possibility...
I haven’t ruled out going over there—I love New York and I love L.A.— and at some point, I do think we’ll go as a family. But I’ve had so many commitments here, and it’s very difficult to step away, take the risk and say, “I’m going to move to another country.” Because you then live in fear of coming home and all the good jobs are gone! I think also, on a personal level, that when I went over to New York to do Chicago [in 2001], I wasn’t in the right place to think about America long-term. I had just come out of a relationship [with Grammy-winning musician Jay Kay] and, to be honest, was quite heartbroken, so I had to mend my broken heart. But even if I never do Broadway again, it’s something I’ve done. I can say I’ve ticked that box.

It’s helpful, no doubt, that you have so many career strands to your bow.
I like to think that it’s more about the acting and the singing now, because those are more challenging. There’s an art to being good at TV presenting, and some people can do it very well, but in terms of fulfilment, doing a show makes me feel like I’ve done a day’s work [laughs]. Presenting always feels like you're being paid to be yourself and have a bit of a laugh.

And now you've added being a mum to the mix. Are you looking forward to Betsy’s first Christmas?
We’re really excited, though of course she’s still very young and won’t remember anything. She’ll probably play with the boxes rather than the toys.