Fern Britton has lost a treasured bracelet gifted to her by Dolly Parton during a visit to the BBC about a year ago. The former television presenter is now appealing for its return.
Britton, 69, interviewed the country music legend in 2009 for her series Fern Britton Meets... at Dollywood in Nashville. Parton showed her dressing room, wig room, make-up room and studio, and gifted Britton a pink rhinestone bracelet studded with diamonds.
"She was the most open, warm, funny, self-effacing, talented woman you could ever hope to meet," Britton told the Daily Telegraph. "At the end, she let me go and try on one of her dresses and then took the bracelet off her wrist ... and gave it to me because it matched the pink dress I was wearing. She said: 'Don’t worry, it only cost about five bucks!"
Britton said she "guarded the bracelet" from day one until she took it to the BBC about a year ago. "Someone must have picked it up because I didn't have it at the end of the evening. So, if anyone out there is reading this and knows where it is, I'd like it back, please."
Memorable interviews
The meeting with Parton stands out among Britton's many celebrity encounters, which include chats with Tony Blair, Cliff Richard, Desmond Tutu, Jesse Jackson and Sheila Hancock.
Marriage reflections
In a separate conversation, Britton described the "worst" part of marriage as the sound of a key in the lock. "That moment when you hear the key in the lock and your heart sinks because things haven't been going well. What's the mood? What's the temperature? That feeling of here we go again."
Britton, who has been married twice and split from chef Phil Vickery in 2020, said she is enjoying single life. "I'm in a good place, I feel that I've found the person that I used to be, and I'm enjoying life and having fun."
Catch Fern on Fern Britton: Inside the Vet's from 11.30am to 12pm on ITV today (Sunday, July 26).
