Denise Van Outen's ex Lee Mead vows to keep life private in parenting update

Lee Mead admitted there are parts of his life he enjoys keeping away from the spotlight. The 42-year-old shares daughter Betsy, 14, with ex-wife Denise Van Outen and is also a step-father to his fiance Issy's son Alfie.

The Any Dream Will Do winner, who is set to star in the West End production of Sister Act, discussed the importance of privacy when it comes to his family.

Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, Lee explained: "Having your relationship in the public eye is a personal thing to each person and there’s a lot of people in the public eye that are more comfortable and who are open with their relationships and their personal lives."

The Casualty star continued: "I think for all of us as individuals, it’s nice to have that personal part of your life because that’s quite sacred."

While he keeps his relationship with Issy mainly private, Lee said the couple enjoy attending public events together and award ceremonies. He added: "I love my job and my work, and TV things that come with the job, but for me, it’s really important that I have a normal life that I can keep private as well."

Lee, who will play Eddie Souther in the musical at the Dominion Theatre, opened up about his tight-knit family, gushing over how close Betsy and Alfie are. He explained: "Like a lot of couples, co-parenting is quite common.

"Me and Issy have been together for seven years so I’ve known Alfie since he was three and Betsy is now 14 which is crazy. But they’re very close. We just love our time together."

Betsy splits her time between Lee and Denise, with the theatre star explaining: "I have Betsy during the week for school runs and things. Then on the weekends when I have Betsy, the four of us are in Kent as a family. We’re always very conscious of making sure that we’re spending time together as that is our priority."

Lee has taken over the role of Eddie from Clive Rowe, joining the cast alongside Alexandra Burke who will play main character Deloris Van Cartier. Meanwhile, Gavin and Stacey star Ruth Jones has extended her run as Mother Superior.

Despite Lee's theatre career spanning two decades, a character like Eddie is something he's never done before. Of his new part, Lee said: "This is my first comedy role in a musical so I’m really excited about that. There are some really funny moments.

"It’s a bit different, so it’s nice when a job comes along and it’s something I’ve never done before. I’m really looking forward to performing it to the audience. It’s going to be really great so I can’t wait really."

Teasing what fans can expect, the Holby City star quipped: "I’ve got a great solo song in act one called, I Could Be That Guy, that I sing about Deloris. It’s so well written and really funny."

Sister Act will run from 10 June to 31 August at The Dominion Theatre.