Celebrity Big Brother star set to break her silence on bitter Phillip Schofield feud as This Morning legend enters house
CELEBRITY Big Brother is just days away and one star is gearing up to lift the lid on her bitter row with Phillip Schofield, according to reports.
Former This Morning presenter Fern Britton will be entering the CBB house on Monday night and insiders claim she “blames Phillip” for her daytime departure.
Fern, 66, famously fell out with Phillip after she left ITV‘s This Morning in 2009 and was replaced by Holly Willoughby.
The star had co-hosted the daytime show for a decade and does not speak to him.
It has now been said Fern “felt hard done by” following the loss of her This Morning job and is ready to tell her side of the story.
Ahead of the new series of CBB kicking off, a source told OK! magazine: “She felt like she was really hard done by when she left This Morning and now she wants to tell her side of the story.
“She actually blames Philip Scofield for her losing her job and felt he had a lot to do with the fact she got pushed out for a younger model, she’s not afraid to speak out now and she’s not taking any prisoners.
“Viewers can certainly expect fireworks. She’s using it as an opportunity to relaunch her career.”
Experienced journalist and TV presenter Fern first stepped onto the This Morning set in 1993, when she was drafted in as a guest host.
In 1999, Fern was given the job full-time and began her stint alongside John Leslie. Phillip took over from him in 2002.
Fern was married to telly chef and resident This Morning cook Phil Vickery at the time.
When she left This Morning, Fern did not namecheck Phillip in her on-screen goodbye to the team. It has been claimed she handed in her notice as she was “living in Phillip’s shadow”.
Four years later, Phillip told Heat magazine: “We were involved in the show and mates at the time, but we don’t really. I see Phil when he’s in This Morning… But we’re not in touch now.”
Fern split with her husband Phil in 2020 and, following Phillip Schofield’s This Morning departure last year, she stayed relatively quiet.
She did, however, reveal she had met up with Eamonn Holmes – who was very critical about Phillip, who had admitted to having an affair with a younger colleague.
“Unexpected calls form old mates are so lovely. Just had the loveliest catch up with Eamonn Holmes,” she wrote on X, formerly called Twitter.
When asked last summer by Good Housekeeping if she speaks to Phillip Schofield anymore, Fern diplomatically replied: “We were involved in the show and mates at the time, but we don’t really.”
Celebrity Big Brother, presented by AJ Odudu and Will Best, returns for a new series on Monday night (March 4).
Other big names among the CBB line-up is Strictly Come Dancing‘s Nikita Kuzmin, Coronation Street‘s Colson Smith and X Factor’s Louis Walsh.
Louis’s close pal and former X Factor co-star, Sharon Osbourne, will also be making a highly anticipated appearance as a houseguest.