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.
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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'."
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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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