Denise Van Outen gushes about her pal Duncan James in front of Celebrity Gogglebox

Denise Van Outen opened up about her deep respect and trust for her best friend Duncan James ahead of the couple’s debut on Celebrity Gogglebox.

Denise, 48, will appear alongside the blues singer, 44, on the Channel 4 show when the new series begins on Friday after splitting from her ex Eddie Boxshall.

The TV presenter told The Sun: “The most important thing is that we trust each other. I trust him and we respect each other as friends.

“For me, those are the moments when your life isn’t going so well and you have someone to look after you to make sure you’re okay.

“Dunc is always first, he has the biggest heart. He’s always the person to reach out and say, “Are you okay? Is there anything I can do to help?”

Denise went on to say that she had a rough start to the year following her issues with Eddie, but Duncan “came over with his big hugs.”

She added that he’s been a great support over the past few months, jokingly adding that it helps “he’s dunc the hunk”.

Duncan added that he’s been fortunate enough to meet numerous celebrities over the course of the year, but admits his true friends in show business are few and far between.

He insists Denise is a great friend and says that most importantly, they both know that they can trust each other.

Duncan confirmed he would be sitting on the Celebrity Gogglebox sofa with Denise last week.

Speaking on Good Morning Britain, Duncan, along with fellow blues singer Simon Webbe, announced that filming would begin earlier this week.

The duo were on the show to talk about their upcoming tour when hosts Adil Ray and Charlotte Hawkins asked about the series and Duncan shared his nickname for the former Big Breakfast host.

“Me and Denis Van Outen, the DVO – we’re doing Gogglebox together, can’t wait.”

Adding, “We’re actually starting filming next week, so yeah, it’s really exciting.”

Denise’s girlfriend, former Girls Aloud star Kimblerley Walsh, 40, was rumored to be replaced, but Gogglebox bosses are said to have favored a male and female pairing.

Duncan has known the blonde beauty since the early noughties and is believed to have helped her through their recent split.

With a similar sense of “cheeky” humor, the producers hope viewers will resonate.

Denise’s ex Eddie recently claimed she “yelled profanity at him” and threw him out of the house when he admitted to exchanging sext messages.

The commodities trader said he sent up to 20 sext messages to other women behind his partner’s back when addressing their split after seven years together.

He said the TV star “yelled at him” and kicked him out in November after confronting him about the sext messages and photos she found on his iPad.

Eddie said he texted a woman he met online one night after a few drinks, but denied cheating on Denise on any other occasion.

He said he was ashamed and “deeply regretted” for sending the messages and said he had contacted his presenter’s ex-girlfriend many times to apologize.

Eddie admitted he broke Denise’s trust and said he hoped their relationship would survive his mistake, but added that he respects her decision.

Eddie said he’s been struggling for the past six months and has turned to alcohol as a coping mechanism, but said he’s been feeling more positive in recent weeks.

Addressing the images on his iPad, Eddie said Denise found a photo of a woman’s cleavage, a picture of him posing with an ex-girlfriend whose contact picture was a raunchy snap, and saw that his screensaver was a selfie had been from them.

But Eddie firmly denied cheating on Denise with either woman and said the picture of him and his ex-girlfriend was taken when he happened to meet her with a group of friends

Fred Siriex, 50, Maître d’ First Dates, has also signed on for the new series and is joined on the sofa by his rarely seen fiancé, whom he affectionately calls Fruitcake.

Fruitcake took to social media to share her excitement at the news after recently claiming she’s a “natural on screen”, with the Frenchman saying he can’t wait for the public to meet his other half.