ESSEX television star Denise Van Outen paid a trip to Mersea to celebrate her 47th birthday, taking in the north Essex sunshine.

The TV presenter took to Instagram to share a series of photos of her visit, capturing the West Mersea's colourful beach huts and raving about her fish and chips from the Coast Inn.

She visited the north Essex coast with fiancé Eddie Boxshall, who had organised a day of fun to celebrate her birthday.

They rented a beach hut from Cool Coastal Huts, enjoying the sunshine and the sights of the north Essex coast on Bank Holiday Sunday.

She posted: "Best time in the sunshine.

"@coolcoastalhuts Mersea - hut 245 with @eddieboxshall.

"We loved our little hut in Essex.

"Polished off fish and chips at @thecoastinn at the end of the day. Perfect.

"Thank you Eddie for spoiling me on my birthday."

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Her celebrity friends took to the social media site to say happy birthday to the mother-of-one.

Denise was born in Basildon and still lives in her home county of Essex.

Her background in theatre has seen her perform in both the West End and on Broadway.

The former Strictly Come Dancing contestant, a runner up in the tenth series, also narrates The Only Way is Essex.

The TV presenter has recently got herself back on stage and has been working on Some Girl I Used To Know, which she co-wrote with Terry Ronald.

The musical has been directed by actress Tamzin Outhwaite and Denise is the only star in the performance.

Speaking back in May, she said it was "lovely" to get back into acting and singing following the pandemic.

Some Girl I Used To Know tells the story of Stephanie, a successful lingerie designer who wrestles with a romantic dilemma while she is alone in a luxury hotel room.

It originally debuted in the West End in 2014.