Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly had been in the running to be presenters on The Big Breakfast, according to the show's former co-host Denise van Outen.
The TV presenter, 47, has said that the trial "didn't work out" for the pair, both 46, - known collectively as Ant and Dec - nor was Davina McCall, 54, made full-time on the show.
Denise has said that she had an influence in the decision over who would replace Rick Adams, 50, on the show in the late 90s - with her opting for Johnny Vaughan, 55.
She hosted the Channel 4 show from 1997 to 1999 - initially with Adams but primarily with Vaughan - and returned to the programme as co-host from 2000 to 2001.
Discussing the departure of her initial co-host on the show, she said: "When my co-presenter Rick Adams left the show, I held the fort down on my own for a while."
Denise explained: "Sometimes [I would be] working with various guest presenters with a view to them becoming permanent if the chemistry between us was right.
"We had Ant & Dec on, which didn't work out – with two of them and one of me. Then we had Davina McCall, which was fine, but the producers preferred the combination of one boy/one girl."
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Denise opened up about the programme in her new memoir A Bit of Me - which was released earlier this month - and said that she stumbled upon Vaughan on a late night show.
She writes: Johnny was doing a sketch about Reebok Classic trainers. He made me cry with laughter.
"So I called Waheed [Alli, The Big Breakfast co-creator]. 'I've been watching this guy on TV, Johnny Vaughan. He's hilarious. You've got to get him to try him out'."
The West End star said that producers were already aware of Vaughan, with her stating: "It turned out that Johnny was already on their radar of show bosses."
The Big Breakfast ran on Channel 4 for a decade, with it broadcast from 1992 until 2002. It was produced by Planet 24, which was co-owned by musician Sir Bob Geldof, 70.
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