Fern Britton has headed into the Celebrity Big Brother house, as the iconic reality show made its return to television.
But who is Fern Britton? What shows has she hosted? Is she married? And what is she doing now?
Read on to find out more…
Celebrity Big Brother: Who is Fern Britton?
Fans of This Morning will know Fern from her days presenting the hit ITV show between 1999 and 2009.
Fern, now 66, is a TV presenter and author from London. Her first TV role came back in 1980 while she was working for Westward Television, where she was a newsreader.
The next time I have a facelift or have haemorrhoids I will let you know.
In 1981, she moved to the BBC, where she became the BBC’s youngest-ever national news presenter while working at Breakfast Time.
Roles at TVS, London Tonight, GMTV and Carlton Television followed.
Between 1994 and 2000, Fern presented Ready Steady Cook for the BBC.
When did Fern Britton leave This Morning?
From 1993, Fern was a guest presenter on This Morning, however, in 1999 she became the permanent host on Fridays alongside John Leslie.
In 2002, she and John got the hosting gig full-time. In 2002, Phillip Schofield replaced John.
Fern announced that she would be taking a break from This Morning in November 2008. In January 2009, she returned, only to announce two months later that she would be leaving the show after 10 years.
She subsequently pulled out of hosting The British Soap Awards, which she had fronted alongside Phillip between 2006 and 2008.
Celebrity Big Brother: Why did Fern Britton leave This Morning?
At the time, Fern admitted that she was leaving because she wanted to “explore other things”.
However, in the years since she has confessed she left because she felt like he was being “treated poorly”. There were also claims she felt like she was living in Phillip’s shadow.
Speaking on the Ray D’Arcy radio show, she said: “I began not to enjoy it so much and the morning I resigned, I didn’t know I was going to resign. Something happened and I just thought, that’s it really and I walked away and resigned,” she then continued.
“I was treated pretty poorly, actually. And after a while, I just thought, sod it. There was also a persistent rumour that I left because Phillip was being paid more than me and I always say to people: ‘Why would I leave a show to go to nothing if I was worried about money?'”
What happened between Fern Britton and Phillip Schofield?
Ever since she quit, there have been rumours that Fern was secretly feuding with her co-star, Phillip.
Though she has never addressed the alleged feud herself, Phillip has written of an incident between them that he believes led to her quitting.
Phillip wrote of the incident in his autobiography, Life’s What You Make It, which was released in 2020. In the book, Phillip explained what happened after Fern intervened with the content of a This Morning show.
“I walked back into the make-up room and calmly said: ‘Please don’t do that to me again,'” Phillip wrote. “I think, for whatever reason, that was the point Fern decided she didn’t want to do This Morning any more.”
Fern and Phillip’s ‘feud’
In 2013, Phillip revealed that he wasn’t in contact with Fern, despite working alongside her for the best part of seven years.
However, rumours of a feud were seemingly quashed in 2022, when Phil celebrated a milestone 40 years in showbiz.
In a specially recorded video shown on Lorraine, Fern said: “40 years is an incredible milestone and it’s time for you to stop and look back and see all that you have achieved and be proud of it. So I’m wishing you a very happy future. Congratulations and keep going.”
However, in 2023, during an interview with Good Housekeeping, Fern admitted she doesn’t speak to Phillip any more.
“We were involved in the show and mates at the time, but we don’t really [speak any more],” she said.
Celebrity Big Brother: Is Fern Britton married?
Fern has been married twice. Between 1988 and 2000, she was married to TV executive Clive Jones.
They met when Clive was still married and began an affair. However, Fern broke off their affair after a year. Two days later, Clive turned up on her doorstep having left his wife. They married in 1988 and had three children together, twins Harry and Jack (born 1994) and daughter Grace (born 1997).
However, their marriage broke down after Grace’s birth, and they separated in 1998. Their divorce was finalised in 2000.
In the years since the split, Fern revealed that an “immense rift” opened between them when she did a Mensa test and found her IQ to be higher than his.
“He had this degree and I don’t. I secretly went off and did the Mensa,” she said on the Walking The Dog with Emily Dean podcast.
“I passed — and quite well too. Then he was furious so he did it because he’s got a huge brain. But he’s not a problem solver and he didn’t get it. So an immense rift opened,” she said.
Fern and Phil Vickery
Fern then began dating celebrity chef Phil Vickery, who is well known to This Morning fans thanks to his regular appearances on the show.
They met on the set of Ready Steady Cook and got married in the spring of 2000. They had a daughter called Winifred together.
However, in 2020, Phil and Fern announced that they were splitting after 20 years of marriage.
“After more than 20 happy years together, Phil and I have decided to go our separate ways. We will always share a great friendship and our lovely children. “We would appreciate it if our privacy is respected at this time. Thank you for your continued kindness and support,” she said at the time.
Is Fern Britton in a relationship?
Two years after their split, Phil Vickery was spotted kissing Fern’s close pal, Lorraine Stanton.
However, taking to Twitter after the incident, Fern said that any rumours of a relationship between Lorraine and Phil were “not true”.
Phil also said: “She’s just a friend. We’re just mates having lunch for goodness sake.”
Since her split, Fern hasn’t had any public relationships. However, she has spoken of how it would be “lovely” to have someone who is just “there”.
“I don’t want anything much at all – just somebody who’s there. That would be lovely,” she told OK! magazine in 2023. She also said that the door to a new relationship was “half-open”.
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Celebrity Big Brother: What is Fern Britton doing now?
Since leaving This Morning, Fern has continued to work in TV and has moved to live in Cornwall.
Between 2021 and 2023, she hosted My Cornwall for Channel 5 and has continued to host Fern Britton meets… for the BBC.
Since her This Morning days, Fern has also become a bestselling author, penning nine novels and several short stories to date.
In 2012, she appeared on Strictly, where she was paired up with Artem Chigvintsev. They were the fifth couple to be eliminated.
Her latest TV projects include No Place Like Home and Britain’s Best Places to Live 2023 for Channel 5.
What is Fern Britton’s net worth?
According to various sources, Fern’s reported net worth is believed to be around £4 million.
Fern Britton’s weight loss
Presenter Fern previously revealed that she shed five stone and went from a size 22 to a size 12.
At first, Fern said that she did it by reducing her carbohydrate intake and eating a more healthy diet. However, she then admitted to having a gastric band fitted in 2006. Speaking on This Morning, she admitted “there are some things a girl likes to keep to herself”.
“I didn’t feel that I had the need to ring around and let everyone know, in fact only five people knew, including my husband obviously,” she added. “The next time I have a facelift or have haemorrhoids I will let you know.”
‘I was unhealthy’
Later, speaking to the Mail, she said: “I needed to get healthy. I wasn’t unhappy the way I was – I was unhealthy. I’d been recovering from having children, having a divorce, all those emotional things,” she said.
She also said in 2011: “It’s something I did for myself. My cholesterol was high. My knee joints were starting to hurt. I wasn’t able to run. I was approaching 50 and I thought, do you know what? I’m going to be different when I’m 50. I was cycling like mad and nothing was happening. My GP said I was a good candidate for a band, so I went ahead.”
She then added: “For me it’s worked. I’ve got good cholesterol now. I’m incredibly fit. I’m the same size I was at 24. I can do the splits.”
Read more: Celebrity Big Brother: Fern Britton ‘signs up as she won’t hold back on Phillip Schofield drama’
Celebrity Big Brother airs on ITV1 and ITVX on 9pm.
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