Vanessa Feltz to interview actress Helen Flanagan as first guest on new 5 show

Vanessa Feltz is to interview actress Helen Flanagan as the first guest on her new 5 show after the presenter departed This Morning.

The 63-year-old will launch Vanessa at 12.30pm on Monday March 24, after she left her presenting role on the ITV daytime magazine show after more than 30 years.

Flanagan, 34, who is best known for playing Rosie Webster on ITV soap Coronation Street between 2000 and 2018, will chat to Feltz about co-parenting her three children with her ex-husband, footballer Scott Sinclair, as well as welcoming her new partner’s children into the family.

Speaking about the new show on The Jeremy Vine Show on Friday, Feltz said: “Helen’s also very candid about all sorts of issues that she’s had in life.

“It hasn’t necessarily gone straightforwardly in every way, she had a sad split from the father of her children, she’s found love again.

“She’s going to be a revelation. I think she’s going to be fabulous.”

Feltz had previously told the PA news agency her new show would welcome any subject of conversation with the exception of politics.

She said: “It’s not going to be politics, and it’s not going to be news stories of the day, it’s not that.

“So that is great, because lots of people are completely overwhelmed by the news agenda – it’s a bit worrying and unsettling … you keep hearing all these sad and worrying stories, and you’re not sure what to do about them, because what the hell can you do? And you feel horrid.

“So I’m hoping that this will be a kind of oasis of refuge in the middle of the day, away from the news and into the things that we really like, like love, and friendship, and dating, and family relationships, and parenting.

“You know, all the stuff that really concerns us, that we think about and worry about.”

From March 24, Vanessa will air from Monday to Friday at lunchtimes on 5, produced by ITN Productions.