Steph McGovern has confirmed that she will be returning to the BBC, after having previously left the network in order to host her own show on Channel 4, Steph's Packed Lunch. The mother-of-one previously served as a business reporter and main presenter for BBC Breakfast before leaving the network in 2019 during her maternity leave. Steph has also hosted major shows, including Today, Watchdog, Shop Well for Less and Wake Up to Money, the latter of which was a radio show on BBC Radio 5 Live.
On Tuesday, the 43-year-old confirmed that she was "absolutely buzzing" as she confirmed her return to the BBC in a presenting capacity, although she didn't reveal what shows she would be hosting. In her confirmation post, the published author said she would be presenting a "brand new series on BBC One daytime".
She also revealed that there would be a "brand [new] series on BBC Two evenings," alongside a "longstanding TV programme that's been going nearly as long as I have been alive". Steph didn't confirm whether the final programme would be on the BBC or a different network, but she did announce that neither of her BBC shows would be a magazine or talk show format.
© InstagramSteph's news comes less than a year after she made her acting debut in the BBC's Smoggie Queens, a series that focused on the chosen family of its LGBTQ+ characters who lived in Middlesbrough. Revealing her part last year, Steph posted behind-the-scenes snaps and teased: "I'd been sworn to secrecy about this….and now I can tell you…I'm in the new BBC sitcom Smoggie Queens!" With acting now in her repertoire, could she be heading to Albert Square? The timelines match up!
Steph's Packed Lunch and writing career
Away from the BBC, Steph hosted her own daytime show on Channel 4 between 2020 and 2023. Originally titled The Steph Show, the star's programme launched a week after the first coronavirus lockdown started. Months into its run, the show was retitled to Steph's Packed Lunch and featured a wide variety of celebrity guests and the occasional guest presenter.
However, in 2023, Channel 4 and Steph confirmed that the show had been cancelled by the network. "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," Channel 4 said in a statement.
© Instagram"We remain as committed as ever to our mission to help level up the TV industry outside London and to our 50% origination out-of-London target. We will be reinvesting the budget previously committed to Steph's Packed Lunch into other nations and regions productions." Steph didn't speak out over the cancellation, but several of her television friends shared their dismay that the show had been axed.
However, this didn't deter the star, who also launched her own podcast with close friend Robert Peston and earlier this year, made her debut as an author after publishing Deadline, a thriller novel. The plot follows a budding television journalist who is hosting her own show for the first time when her earpiece is hijacked by someone holding her family hostage and forcing her to comply with his orders, while live on air.
© InstagramSpeaking exclusively to HELLO! while launching the book, the presenter said: "I launched the first iteration of Packed Lunch at home, and my partner was working at home as well. The writing was the escapism. I didn't have a book deal then, I was writing because I just wanted to write and I was enjoying the characters."
She continued: "I've always thought about what I would do if one of my broadcasts got hijacked… I read a lot of Harlan Coben and he's always talking about the 'What if?', and I do that in my head if I'm in a domestic situation. I'll be like, 'What if, on this plane now, we suddenly saw a hand appear at the window?', which really annoys my partner."
