FERN Britton insists she quit This Morning after being ‘treated poorly’ -before slamming pay row rumours.
The 62-year-old left the ITV morning show in 2009 after co-hosting it for a decade.
At the time, rumours swirled that Fern had quit after discovering her co-host Phillip Schofield was earning significantly more than her, but in a new interview, Fern has insisted that wasn’t the case at all.
Speaking on The Ray D’Arcy Show on RTÉ Radio 1, 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 thought, ‘That’s it really’ and I walked away and resigned.
“I was treated pretty poorly, actually. And after awhile I just thought, ‘Sod it’.”
Fern then went on to discuss the rumours about a pay row between her and Phil, 58.
She said: “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?'”
Fern recently spoke to The Sun’s Executive Editor Dan Wottoon on his talkRADIO Drivetime show about Phillip coming out as gay earlier this year.
She said: “We haven’t seen each other for a very long time or spoken for a while. I’m glad for him. It’s none of my business.
“He’s getting on really, so, good. It’s terrible that people have to hide who they are.”
Fern, who has split from chef husband Phil Vickery, 59, added: “I feel for his wife. Steph’s a lovely girl and, you know, that’s difficult – as I’ve been talking about difficult transitions and processing stuff for me, it will be the same for her.”
The Sun Online has contacted a representative for ITV for comment.
