BREAKING NEWS: Steph McGovern returns to the BBC two years after the Channel 4 show was axed in an unmissable role
Steph McGovern hasn’t been seen on TV much since her Channel 4 show Steph’s Packed Lunch was axed in December 2023, which wasn’t renewed after three years due to low viewing figures and budgets being allocated elsewhere.
But now the 43-year-old is set to return to screens – this time on the BBC – to front a new game show about art. Said to be a ‘posh rival’ to ITV’s Bargain Hunt, The Art Game will reportedly see a group of contestants trying their hand at art dealing by buying and selling artworks with the aim of making as much money as possible.
Due to air on prime time BBC Two next year, it’s a return to the Beeb for Steph, who formerly worked as the main business presenter for BBC Breakfast until she went on maternity leave in 2019 after giving birth to her daughter.
Each week, seven pairs – with an interest in art, but not professionals – will take part in the show. They’ll have to complete a series of challenges as their efforts are assessed by a panel of judges, who are the real deal. The winners will bag themselves a piece of sought-after art.
A source told The Sun: “This is a really interesting gig for Steph and taps into her mind for business and head fo
r figures, because art is worth billions of pounds.
“It also goes through the same fluctuations and patterns as any other form of commerce.
“Overall, the aim of the show is to lift the curtain on a sphere of life which most people have a skim understanding of – but most of the mechanics of it remains a mystery.
“They hope to introduce viewers to some little-known facts about the art market, as well as dispel a few lingering myths as well.”
The TV star announced her latest career move back in August, though didn’t reveal what show she would be fronting. In an Instagram post, she teased: “Big work news. I can’t tell you the specifics yet. But it involves hosting 3 shows all out in the next 12 months.”
She went on: “1) A brand new series on BBC One daytime (Not a magazine/chat show). 2) A brand series on BBC Two evenings (Still not a magazine/chat show). “3) A longstanding TV programme that’s been going nearly as long as I have been alive. I AM ABSOLUTELY BUZZING!!!”
Thanking fans for their support since she’s been off air, Steph added: “Thank you to everyone who has been sending me such lovely messages about my new TV stuff coming up (even though I haven’t told you what they are yet). Sorry for those hoping it would be [Steph’s Packed Lunch] coming back……it’s deffo not that.”
Since Packed Lunch finished, Steph has appeared on other shows as a presenter, including Sunday Brunch, and took part in Netflix’s reality series Celebrity Bear Hunt that was fronted by Holly Willoughby, but that was also axed after just one series.
Prior to that Steph was part of the BBC Breakfast team as one of the show’s longstanding presenters. She kicked off her career at the broadcaster answering phones for Radio 4’s Money Box while studying, before becoming a current affairs researcher and then the producer of the financial news on the Today show.
