Lass Vegas

SHE'S blonde, stylish and pretty - not at all like her rough-and- ready boyfriend Johnny Vegas.

Until now Catherine Donnelly, 26, has been the secret love in the life of the roly-poly comedian. But now they have revealed their whirlwind romance and confirmed that they plan to marry.

Last week Johnny - real name Michael Pennington - was spotted walking hand-in-hand with Catherine out shopping in North London. True to form, down-to-earth Johnny - sporting a Rugby League baseball cap - tried to take his fiance'e for a browse around Woolworths.

But Catherine, an interior designer, had other ideas. She soon led the way to the furnishings department at trendy Habitat instead.

Johnny, 31, has been dating Essex girl Catherine - known to pals as Kitty - since the start of the year. She realised it must be serious when he took her to his home town of St Helens to meet his parents and three brothers. And now there are rumours that she may even be pregnant.

Mum Pat, 61, and dad Laurence, 70, still live in the family's small terraced home, and Pat said yesterday: "Jonny's very happy and so are we. She's a lovely girl. He was lonely away from home, and we're glad he's found somebody so sweet.

"We have met her three times and we got on really well. She likes St Helens a lot."

Johnny took the whole family out for a celebration meal to announce the engagement.

"Kitty is a great catch for him," said younger brother Mark. "She has really made Johnny very happy."

It might be obvious what attracted Johnny to Catherine. But given his image as the king of couch potatoes whose best mate is a knitted monkey, what could she see in him? The answer is that the real-life Michael is very different from the make-believe Johnny.

"He's very level-headed and always said he would never rush into marriage," an ex-girlfriend recalls. "He used to tell me it was a big step, an important decision not to be taken lightly."

In this month's Cosmopolitan magazine, Johnny admits that he's a tender romantic underneath who was 26 before he had his first serious relationship.

"I'm what you ladies call a gentleman," he says. "I'm as red- blooded as the next man, but I wouldn't expect to get my leg over just because I'd taken you to dinner."

The wedding is later this month - but not in St Helens. Johnny is whisking Catherine to San Francisco for the ceremony, then spending a honeymoon in Las Vegas before returning for a family celebration.

Copyright 2002 MGN LTD
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