Fern Britton is reportedly set to join the cast of Celebrity Big Brother.
The 66-year-old former This Morning presenter is also “not planning on staying silent about her former co-star, Phillip Schofield”. Fern, who worked on the popular ITV daytime show from 1999 up until 2009, often co-hosted with Phil.
The pair brought a lot of laughter to their audience while discussing light-hearted topics until 2009. However, it wasn’t all smiles behind the scenes. Things are said to have turned sour for Fern and Phil after she decided to step down from her presenting duties and was replaced by Holly Willoughby.
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Last year, allegations emerged about Phil having an “unwise, but not illegal” affair with a younger male member of the This Morning crew. Although he initially denied this, Phil later confessed to lying about the matter leading to him severing ties with ITV amidst a cloud of scandal.
(Image: Mike Marsland/Getty Images for Good Housekeeping Live)
Now, reports suggest that Fern has agreed to be part of the upcoming series of Celebrity Big Brother due to screen shortly. And it seems that she’s ready to spill the beans about her broken relationship with Phil once inside the well-known reality house. A source revealed to The Sun: “She wants to show the public a different side to her – unscripted and unapologetic.
“She has a lot of stories to tell and she won’t hold back when it comes to her relationships with people like Phil. They don’t speak anymore so there are no bridges to burn as far as she is concerned.” An ITV spokesperson said: “Any names for Celebrity Big Brother are purely speculation.”
(Image: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Fern left This Morning in 2009, with pals at the time saying she felt “undervalued by ITV” and that she was “living in Phil’s shadow”. There were also rumours that she discovered she was earning £250,000 a year less than her co-host, which reportedly added to her frustrations. She has previously denied leaving the show because of a pay gap.
She told the Irish Daily Mail in the past: “I never discussed with Phillip what he and I were earning. I was happy doing the show and happy with my salary.” She didn’t mention Phil during her farewell speech on This Morning and the pair have barely spoken since she left.
(Image: Ken McKay/REX/Shutterstock)
In 2013, Phil spilled the beans to Heat Magazine about his relationship with Fern, saying: “We were involved in the show and mates at the time, but we don’t really. I see Phil [Fern’s then-husband, chef Phil Vickery] when he’s in This Morning… But we’re not in touch now.” Fern also had her say to MailOnline: “I always say Phillip and I had an indefinable chemistry which seemed to work well on-screen, she said. We ‘got’ each other. We enjoyed a laugh. And viewers seemed to warm to that. But, like Morecambe and Wise, we chose not to live in each other’s pockets. We were a great professional partnership but we never went on holiday together.”
Celebrity Big Brother is returning to screens on March 4. Rugby hunk James Haskell, X Factor’s Louis Walsh and Love Island stunner Ekin-Su Culculoglu are also rumoured to be on the line-up.
Celebrity Big Brother returns to ITV1 and ITVX on Monday, March 4 at 9pm
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
