Fern Britton has spoken about the end of her working relationship with Phillip Schofield, admitting that something 'wasn't right' with their friendship. The 69-year-old television presenter resigned from This Morning in 2009, where she had co-presented with Schofield. Schofield left the show in May 2023 after admitting to a relationship with a younger ITV employee.
Fern Britton on Her Departure from This Morning
In a new interview, Britton was asked why she left the show. She said: "I don't really want to go into that. I probably won't ever, but yes, it was a day that turned on a sixpence, and suddenly I thought, 'I've got to get out of here.'"
Speaking about rumours of a rift with Schofield, she added: "It was hard, it was very difficult, very upsetting." Despite this, Britton said they had a good friendship. She told the Guardian: "I don't backtrack on that, but then, you know, give it time, and it wasn't right."
Mixed Emotions and Wishing Him Well
Britton elaborated on her emotions regarding Schofield: "It was very mixed emotions for me, that one. I can't really explain it, because we did have a very good working relationship, until we didn't, so it was tricky. I wish him well. I hope it all settles down and he finds some happiness."
Besides This Morning, Britton has appeared on Ready Steady Cook, Strictly Come Dancing, and BBC Breakfast.
Her Exit from BBC Breakfast
Britton also spoke about her departure from BBC Breakfast, which she presented between 1983 and 1986. She said she was "decimated" and told she was "terrible" in the middle of a day's filming.
Speaking on James O'Brien's Full Disclosure podcast, she recalled: "I left because I was very unhappy there. The editor hated me, Frank hated me. It was made very, very difficult for me."
She described a specific incident: "There was one morning when the editor walked in at 8 o'clock sort of halfway through the morning and he came through the forest of cameras and he said to me: 'You are terrible, you are awful, now sit down there and do another hour.' After the show, he called me into his office and locked it, he was in there with his deputy editor and they just shredded me and I cried and cried and cried."
Britton added that after the incident, she was forced to put on makeup before leaving the office. She said: "It was a Friday and he said you're not leaving this office until you put some make-up on. I said 'It's in the bag, on the desk' and he went and he got my bag and I had to put my makeup on in front of him…. What he did was really bad, it really decimated me."
