Delighted Michelle is revealed as the new face of TV3's Xposé

The Donegal woman beat off competition from several high-profile contenders including Daniella Moyles and Nadia Forde to land the role on the entertainment show. She starts on Monday.

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The 35-year-old was revealed by TV3 at an event in Dublin's Marker Hotel this morning.

"It's been really hard trying to keep this a secret for the past week," she said. "I'm over the moon to get the job".

Michelle, who went to London last January to pursue acting, credits Davina McCall with renewing her passion for presenting.

"I went to see her record an episode of Stepping Out and it reminded me how much I missed doing TV," she said.

Michelle, who did a screen test for TV3 on November 10, learned last Thursday that she had been successful.

However, she said she would continue to be based in London where she lives with her entrepreneur boyfriend Mark O'Shea, and fly over to Dublin each week to work on Xposé.

Michelle, who previously hosted a Phantom FM show, will cover the six-month maternity leave of Aisling O'Loughlin.

A TV3 insider said: "Not only is Michelle at ease with the camera on her, she has the ability to put other people at ease too.

"That's a great talent when you're interviewing people in a rush on red carpets."

Michelle is not short of VIP connections, as she previously dated Formula One driver Eddie Irvine and rugby hero Denis Hickie.

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She got the acting bug after appearing in the movie What Richard Did and cameos in RTE comedy series Trivia.

But she told of how difficult it had been knocking on doors for jobs in the UK.

"You're not going to get things handed to you on a plate," she said. "You have to have lots of meetings and get to know lots of people."

hnews@herald.ie