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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Entertainment
Tom Bryant

Denise Van Outen's new man Jimmy Barba starred in Tom Jones' raunchy Sex Bomb music video

Denise Van Outen’s new man really is a Sex Bomb, after starring in Tom Jones’ official music video 23 years ago.

Jimmy Barba, 55, who was pictured with Denise for the first time on Wednesday night when they attended the Grand Prix Ball together, was the main love interest in the raunchy video.

And he even joined Tom on stage on the BBC ’s Top of the Pops, where he gyrated with three female dancers.

Jimmy, who grew up on a cucumber farm in the UK, also starred in the 2010 Italian version of Big Brother, called Grande Fratello, where he was in a relationship with a female contestant. He finished fourth.

Denise Van Outen and her new boyfriend Jimmy Barba's first public appearance (Mike Marsland/WireImage)
Jimmy is no stranger to the world of entertainment (Dave Benett/Getty Images)

During the show, it was said he had been a dancer for Take That and Diana Ross. After Big Brother, he had a short-lived pop career, releasing three singles between 2012 and 2013.

Denise, 48, who split from Eddie Boxshall in January, shared shots of her romantic night at the ball with Jimmy yesterday morning, photos showing them cuddled up at the event and dining with friends.

Denise recently revealed she was in therapy after she split from Gogglebox sidekick Eddie, who she accused of cheating on her by sending sex texts.

She was previously engaged to Jamiroquai singer Jay Kay but they split in 2001. She married Any Dream Will Do winner Lee Mead in 2009 but they broke up in 2013. They have a 12-year-old daughter, Betsy.

Denise was with Eddie for seven years and was heartbroken by the break-up.

She recently said: “For the first time in my life I’m doing therapy.”

She said: “I’ve always gone into any relationship with a massively open heart because I just always think that people are going to be honest and loyal because that’s how I approach everything, and you start to realise we’re not all the same.

“I’m kind of trying to accept that it was just a little blip in my life and I’ve got to accept it for what it is and what it was, and learn from it and grow from it.

“You learn about yourself more and try to take the positives out of it rather than the negatives.” She said making sure Betsy was all right was the “main thing”.

Denise and Eddie were together for seven years before they broke up (Getty Images Europe)
Denise sought therapy after the pair broke up (David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock)

She said: “I’m worried about her being OK, and how it will affect her.”

Last month, Denise said she had started to think about finding another boyfriend but was cautious about getting back on to the dating scene.

She said: “I did download a dating app the other day, but I haven’t gone on it. I’m too scared. It would be the first ever. I don’t know if it’s for me. It’s so weird. I downloaded it and then I felt really awkward about it and I thought, I don’t know if I can do this.

“I know it is the modern way, but I’m also very old-fashioned. My morals, my values, the way I approach relationships, it’s so old-fashioned.”

Denise also revealed she was shocked by members of the public who, unprompted, had told her she should get back with Eddie.

She said: “People have an opinion and I get its part and parcel of the job we do and we take the good bits so you have to take the bad bits.

“But that actual feeling is just the worst. I thought I was never gonna go through it again. It floored me.”

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