Trolls and sexism: Denise Van Outen talks to Femail about her fears for daughter Betsy as she grows up

Body image, bullying on social media, healthy eating, the destructive effects of the internet - these are all things at the foremost of any mother's mind as their daughter starts to grow up. 

And being a celebrity doesn't make it any easier  - as Denise Van Outen, mother to daughter Betsy, now four, is finding out. 

Whether it's how much time to allow a child to use an iPad, stopping your child from being bullied, or making sure they always feel good about their body, she is kept up at night worrying just as much as the next parent.

Denise grew up in the seventies, without access to the web or diet fads. Since having her daughter Betsy, now four, she has become increasingly aware of how the world has changed in a generation, with the internet and body image both having a huge effect on the behaviour of young girls 

One of the TV star's biggest concerns so far is how to keep her daughter unaware of the airbrushing, diet-crazed, size-zero world that young women are subjected to, for as long as possible.

And one of her golden rules is never, ever talking about dieting or weight in front of Betsy.  

She said: 'My mum never talked about dieting in front of me and I get so cross when I see my friends do it in front of their kids. 

'They don’t realise they’re doing it, but they’ll eat something and then I’ll see them say in front of their daughter or son, "Oh, I shouldn’t have done that, I feel so fat now."

'Kids pick up on that and they start to wonder if they will feel fat if they eat it, or whether they are fat.

'I didn’t even know what a diet was until I was into my late teens, which was great and I know that as a result, I have a really healthy attitude to eating.

'It's fine to talk about that kind of thing with your girlfriends, but never in front of their kids.'  

Since her early twenties, Denise has grown up in the spotlight.

Denise, pictured here with Johnny Vaughn, has been in the public eye since she was 23 years old

After becoming famous as a presenter on one of the UK's most successful TV shows of the nineties - The Big Breakfast - the 4o-year-old has rarely been out of the public eye.

As a result, every aspect of her personal life been picked over in minute detail for the last 17 years.

It means that unlike most women her age, she tries to keep away from social media as much as possible, apart from a Twitter account, which is largely for work purposes. 

It is an attitude that she is hoping will rub off on her daughter, especially in the age of online trolls, which has resulted in several British children taking their lives after being targeted by bullies on social networking sites. 

Denise said: 'You just have to try and monitor it as best you can. 

'Educate the best you can from an early age about the dangers of what you can find on the internet, not to be trusting and just explain that the people on these sites are only a virtual friend.

'I had a very weird situation recently where I had a big group of girlfriends who I’ve known for years get together for my 40th birthday. 

Denise in 1997, when she was just 23 years old 

'It was funny because some of my mates who hardly know each other and have only met a couple of times were sitting there saying, “This is so weird being with you in person because I feel like I know everything about your life and yet I’ve probably met you twice in ten years.”

'These women are virtual friends. 

'I’m not really in that world, I tweet but I’m not on Facebook, I’m so old school - I want to speak to my friends properly.

'I would much rather wait six weeks and have a phone call or go for a coffee than to get a virtual message every two weeks, because you need your friends and that proper support.' 

But the internet isn't the only technological concern, Denise also shares the worry of millions of parents across the western world about how much time their children are spending staring at screens. 

It's the daily dilemma of a busy single mum - how much can you allow your child to watch television or use an iPad, while also needing a tool to distract them as you get on with certain household chores.

Denise said: 'You don’t want your kids to grow up too quickly, I have an iPad that has a lot of apps on it for my daughter and we spend a lot of time travelling in the car, so she uses it sometimes then.

'But I’m really quite strict about not spending too much time on the iPad, I play quite a lot of traditional games with her like 'I spy', or the first person to spot ten red cars can have a smartie. 

'I’m really conscious of the fact that when I was younger I did a lot of travelling in the car with my parents and I was always encouraged to use my imagination a lot.

'I also think that conversing is important, it’s an easy way out for parents to sometimes just stick an iPhone or iPad in front of my kids.

'I do it, don’t get me wrong, by I limit the amount of time that I let her do it.

'But at the same time, you don’t want them to get left behind, because in schools, that is how they’re learning everything - on a touch screen.' 

A life for Betsy away from computers and televisions, running around outside with friends and playing on bikes - much like Denise's own childhood - is what spurred her to buy a family home in the Kentish countryside a few years ago. 

Denise at The Brit Awards in 2001 - she believes that a lot has changed in the showbiz industry since then 

She said: 'I moved out of London for that reason. 

'I grew up in Essex, it was quite built up and residential where I lived but my parents’ house looked over a field. 

'We’d go out run around in the fields in our tracksuits and climb trees - that’s why I took my daughter out of London, I wanted her to have an outdoors upbringing.

'I love it when we just stick our wellies on and go and explore. 

 'I never had a sporty upbringing, partly because I went to theatre school, so my focus was on acting and singing.

'But I really hope Betsy gets involved in team sports.

'I’ve recently taken up golf and I take her to the putting green with me, I like it because it’s a social thing, it’s mixed sexes and it’s a nice thing to do that you can do in a group.

'It’s something that we can do as a mother and daughter, even on holiday, because we can go somewhere with a nice little golf course and play. 

'If you can give your kids a focus, they’re not going to be as likely to focus on other things that might be worse for them.

Denise Van Outen now presents her own radio show on Magic FM, something that she was much rarer in Britain even 15 years ago 

'That’s why I’m making a conscious effort to do these things with her, to try and get her involved in going to the local farm, trying horse riding, learning golf, to introduce her to all of these different interests.' 

And when she finally grows up,  Denise is hoping that her daughter may be the part of the first generation who no longer have to deal with the barriers that sexism brings. 

She said: 'You’d hope she will be the first generation not have sexism, but we don’t really know yet.

'I think that everything has become more equal, personally. 

'I feel very blessed that I get to do a radio show on my own for Magic FM, for example - I think there was a time before when it almost always was a two-handed thing if there was a women presenter, or you’d be a sidekick. 

'Now there are so many great female DJ’s out there.'

Listen to Denise Van Outen on Magic FM every Saturday afternoon from 1-3pm. Magic will be going national on digital radio in January 2015