The former BBC Breakfast star has landed herself a primetime gig and says she is “buzzing” over it
Steph is a business expert making her the perfect host for a show about making money(Image: Guy Levy)
Steph McGovern has landed her third presenting role for the BBC with a brand new series in which amateur art lovers compete to become big time dealers. The former BBC Breakfast star quit the Corporation in 2019 and spent three years hosting Steph’s Packed Lunch on Channel 4 before it was dropped in 2023.
Now she has landed the role of host on brand new series The Big Deal, in which seven pairs of amateur art dealers battle it out for a chance to win £50,000 worth of British art.
None of them have ever bought or sold artworks professionally before and each week they face challenges that test their skills, from spotting breakthrough artists to securing a sale.
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Steph McGovern in her previous role at the BBC on the Breakfast sofa(Image: BBC)
Former BBC Breakfast business correspondent Steph told the Mirror: “While lots of people are happy to splash out on theatre tickets, music festivals or holidays abroad, spending time and money looking at or buying art can feel a bit more intimidating. This show dispels the myth that the art world is exclusive. I’m buzzing for you to see how our dealers, from all walks of life, get on when we take them into the heart of the art market, and along all the arteries that stem from it, with the ultimate aim of making money.”
The six-part BBC Arts series, to air later next year in a primetime on BBC2, aims to demystify the global art market. The players’ efforts will be judged by art expert Cordelia De Freitas with the judges including curator Matt Carey-Williams, artist Margo McDaid and digital marketing guru Ani Petrov.
BBC Arts boss Suzy Klein said: “This series pulls back the curtain on one of the most fascinating but mysterious industries in the UK – the art market. Offering a fresh insight into how art is discovered, bought, and sold, The Big Deal with Steph McGovern is a brilliant example of how BBC Arts can demystify the creative industries and inspire the next generation of art-lovers and collectors, while having fun along the way.”
After Packed Lunch ended she dipped her toe into reality TV on Netflix’s Celebrity Bear Hunt(Image: Ray Burmiston/Netflix)
Kieran Doherty, who runs production company Stellify Media, added: “We’ve created a series that is visually exciting, tense, and full of real insights into contemporary art, and Steph is the perfect host.”
In recent months Steph has landed two other new shows for the BBC. In October she joined the team on long-running series Crimewatch Live and the following month she kicked off the 15-part Farms 999, a daytime show for BBC1 about farmyard accidents, heroic rescues and rural crime investigations.
Announcing her return with multiple projects to the BBC on social media last summer, she told followers she was “absolutely buzzing” and 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).
Mum-of-one Steph, 43, was a regular on BBC Breakfast for eight years from 2011. After her Channel 4 magazine show ended, she appeared on Netflix’s short-lived reality show Celebrity Bear Hunt.
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