Children’s TV icon Kirsten O’Brien reveals she once dated Declan Donnelly

CBBC star Kirsten O’Brien told Steph’s Packed Lunch she once asked Geordie host Declan Donnelly out on a date – because her best friend Fearne Cotton appreciated her.

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Kirsten O’Brien once dated Declan Donnelly

Children’s TV icon Kirsten O’Brien once asked Declan Donnelly out – because host Fearne Cotton told her.

The CBBC star, 50, recalled the story in Steph’s Packed Lunch in which she opened up about the awkward experience.

She told Steph McGovern, 39: “Based on the fact that he was single and I had a dream that we would be together and that seemed to make a lot of sense.

“The next day I went with Fearne Cotton and she provoked me, but didn’t give me his number, gave me his agent’s number. Wise girl.

“So I called his agent and went – I can remember that very well – ‘He’s single, I’m single, ask him if he wants to go boogie. ‘ It’s like the 70s.

“He never came back to me!”

Kirsten, who is now married to a 10-year-old son, Fox Michael Drake, and twins born in 2017, was once a popular children’s TV personality.

The Middlesborough-born presenter has hosted shows including the arts show SMart and the CBeebies spin-off Smarteenies.

Kirsten and Fearne, 40, who also started out on children’s TV, were at one time some of the most recognizable faces on TV.

However, the presenter reveals that she is often mistaken for Steph as they both appear from the same forest.

Welcoming the star to the show, Steph said: “It’s great to have you here because I’ve spent my life telling people I’m not you.”

Kirsten laughed and said, “And so am I… My nephew is adamant that you are me!”

Steph added: “I always get people telling me ‘I love you when you do that SMart show on TV’… But we exist as two separate human beings, blondes from ‘Boro.’

Kirsten then joked: “And I got the Tweet, ‘You’re doing great in your Olympics coverage,’ or whatever you’re doing…”

Despite rejecting Kirsten, Dec still found love, marrying Ali Astall in 2015.

The Britain’s Got Talent presenter chose to visit his childhood church in Newcastle with Dec’s co-star Ant McPartlin on his best man assignment.

Dec and Ali became parents in 2018 when their daughter Isla Elizabeth Anne was born.

Steph’s Packed Lunch airs weekdays at 12:30 p.m. on Channels 4 and All 4.