Steph McGovern admits Packed Lunch ‘gives her nightmares’ as show shakes up

Steph McGovern has announced that her Channel 4 Steph Packed Lunch will air over the next two weeks on a schedule starting this Easter.

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Steph McGovern has said that the grief stories featured on Channel 4’s daytime program Steph’s Packed Lunch gave her nightmares.

The 32-year-old presenter said the overwhelmingly “sad” stories the shows included had left her struggling not to cry on air.

She told Daily Stars: “I get a rundown of what we’re going to cover on the show and if I read some sad articles the night before, I have bloody nightmares about what’s happened to everyone.

“With some of them, I couldn’t read about it until the morning of the show. The things that make me sad have nothing to do with babies or someone dying.”

The Channel 4 host noted that she sometimes feels “overwhelmed”, saying the effect has worsened since she and her girlfriend welcomed a daughter in late 2019.

She continued: “I really had to focus not to cry on TV because obviously it was about them, not me.

“We have a boy who is raising money for his brother and sister who have passed away. He’s so eloquent and wonderful and I’m emotional.”

This comes as Steph’s Packed Lunch has been on the air for two weeks in shambles on schedule.

Steph McGovern usually hosts Channel 4’s hit show every weekday lunchtime, but at the end of Friday’s season, which was supposed to be an Easter special, she revealed that she and the group would be broadcast for the next few weeks.

Fans of the show, which has been nominated for an RTS award, will be pleased to know that it’s only a short stint over the Easter break.

Steph and co will be back on Monday, April 25 for another series of shows, as she confesses that she’s excited about the two-week break.

! We’ve been away for two weeks for Easter, so we’ll see you in a few weeks. We’ll be back on Monday the 28th,” she told viewers before quickly being fixed and announcing this was indeed the 25th.

Sorry, she said she was “overjoyed” because she took two weeks off.

Steph’s Packed Lunch has been renewed for November 2021 for another year, after initially rolling out in lockdown from Steph’s home. She is regularly joined, currently in the studio, by guests including John Whaite of Serious and Denise van Outen.