CELEBRITY Big Brother housemate Fern Britton has revealed she hasn’t spoken to Phillip Schofield for 15 years.
The former friends and This Morning co-stars haven’t seen eye to eye since Fern quit the ITV Daytime programme in 2009.
In an interview with the Mail’s Weekend magazine conducted before she entered the CBB house, Fern was asked if it was her decision to leave the show.
She said: “To leave This Morning? Ultimately, yes. I loved it and I would probably still be there if?”
After pausing, she continued: “Phillip and I were not getting on very well at that stage.”
Pressed if the pair had spoken in the years since, she responded: “I haven’t spoken to him, no.”
Without naming Schofield she also took a swipe at power-craving male co-stars.
She said: “Lots of the men you work with are much more fussed about their piece to camera and how many words they’ve got than they are about you.”
Proving there is no love lost, Fern told her CBB co-star Gary Goldsmith days ago that she’d quit the programme if Phillip made a guest appearance.
Fern first stepped onto the This Morning set in 1993, when she was drafted in as a guest host.
In 1999, she was given the job full-time and began her stint alongside John Leslie. Phillip took over from him in 2002.
Fern quit the show in 2009 amid reports of tension between her and Phillip and was replaced by Holly Willoughby.
Holly and Phillip formed a formidable partnership and were inseparable on and off screen until his affair scandal with a younger male colleague destroyed their friendship.
In 2020 Fern relocated permanently to Cornwall after splitting from This Morning chef Phil Vickery following a 20-year marriage.
Opening up about her decision to take part in CBB, she said: “I said yes because I could do with an adventure and that was it.
“Here I am, 67 in the summer and still looking forward to an adventure and everybody who’s approaching 60 or is around this age, you can so easily lose confidence.”
Who are the 13 stars appearing in the Celebrity Big Brother house? The Sun's Jamie Downham takes a look...
Sharon Osbourne – TV legend – who is a “house guest” on a megabucks deal – said she was doing the show for “a good time not a long time”
Louis Walsh – Irish boyband manager who has never knowingly backed down from a fight and is not above pulling rank over the double bed
Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu – As we know from Love Island, the Ek-ster is capable of throwing about some dramatics to claw her way to the final
Levi Roots – Reggae Reggae Sauce sauce packs a bit of a kick, but its inventor seems quite mild-mannered. Will that change under pressure?
Fern Britton – The former This Morning star called out Phillip Schofield – don’t think she won’t do the same to anyone who tangles with her
Colson Smith – You’ll probably know him best as Corrie’s Craig Tinker – but prepare to find out he’s not much like his character
David Potts – Ibiza Weekender’s breakout star has left that show behind – as well as his trousers by the look of things
Gary Goldsmith – Kate Middleton’s uncle is a big signing for ITV, but has proved a divisive booking among viewers
Marisha Wallace – It’s not CBB without the role of ‘American who doesn’t know what they’ve let themselves in for’ and she’s doing brilliantly
Nikita Kuzmin – The Strictly pro is coming onto the show fresh off the show’s tour. Poor lad probably just wants a rest
Zeze Mills – the social media star has a “no holds barred interview style” – and she hasn’t backed away from calling people (well, Louis) out
Bradley Riches – The actor played kindly James McEwan in Netflix hit Heartstopper and he seems just as sweet in the house
Lauren Simon – She’s a Real Housewives of Cheshire star and you really don’t get on that show by being shy and retiring
