Denise van Outen has revealed she held a grudge against the BBC for "quite a long time" after being dropped from a TV show - which she claims was due to her being pregnant.
She's said to have been due to appear as a judge on Over the Rainbow in 2010 - which searched for a performer to play Dorothy Gale in a stage production of the Wizard of Oz.
The West End star, 47, had previously appeared alongside Andrew Lloyd Webber, 73, on previous BBC talent shows Any Dream Will Do in 2007 and then I'd Do Anything in 2008.
Those shows had cast the leads in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Oliver! respectively - with her having met future husband Lee Mead, 40, on the former.
The mum-of-one has said she had been due to return as a judge, with Lloyd-Webber, on Over the Rainbow but claims she was "dropped" due to being pregnant at the time.
John Barrowman, 54, also didn't return as a judge, with Lloyd-Webber instead joined on the panel by Charlotte Church, 35, John Partridge, 50, and Sheila Hancock, 88.
Denise opened up about the situation whilst on Steph's Packed Lunch earlier this afternoon, during a discussion on the Channel 4 show about holding grudges.
Asked by Steph McGovern, 39, if she'd ever held a grudge, she said: "It depends on the situation. I did have a situation years ago where I was a judge on one of the BBC shows."
The Only Way Is Essex narrator continued: "Do you remember the Andrew Lloyd Webber show? Anyway I got dropped from it because I was pregnant."
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Denise - who shares daughter Betsy Mead, 11, with her now ex-husband Lee - said she wasn't aware of who was behind the decision to drop her from the show in 2010 though.
The Broadway star speculated that it could have been the BBC's decision or "Andrew's camp," then adding: "But I did kind of hold a grudge with the BBC for quite a long time."
She admitted to having been "so upset about it" at the time, particularly as she is a "very loyal person" and had been "very passionate" about taking part in the show.
The BBC denied at the time that it had dropped Denise on the grounds of her being pregnant. The Mirror approached the BBC and representatives of Andrew Lloyd Webber for comment on this story.
Denise has since appeared on several BBC shows including Strictly Come Dancing, EastEnders and a celebrity edition of the Great British Sewing Bee.
Steph's Packed Lunch airs weekdays from 12.30pm on Channel 4.
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