Denise Van Outen takes some time out in the Maldives

TV presenter and west-end star Denise Van Outen has taken a break from her busy showbiz career with a luxury trip to the Maldives. The 33-year-old soaked up the sun on a beach of one of the archipelago's islands with a female friend, Now magazine reports.

Eyebrows were raised, however, by the absence of her new boyfriend Lee Mead, the winner of TV talent show Any Dream Will Do, which Van Outen herself presented.

The Maldives, an island nation located in the Indian Ocean, is known for its natural beauty in the form of white sand beaches and clear blue waters.