Celeb Big Brother’s Fern Britton was ‘forced off This Morning job’ by ‘misogynistic’ bosses during pregnancy, she claims
CELEBRITY Big Brother star Fern Britton claimed that she was "forced off This Morning by misogynistic bosses" when she was pregnant.
The TV presenter - who became a household name when she hosted the ITV daytime show from 1999 to 2009 - said an male producer threatened her with the sack if she didn't return to work just two weeks after giving birth.
Fern, 66, welcomed her youngest daughter Winnie at the age of 44 in 2001 with her then-husband TV chef Phil Vickery.
The former host opened up about the shocking incident on Kate Thornton's White Wine Question Time podcast back in 2022.
Fern said: "It was when Richard and Judy had left, I was pregnant, she [Winnie] was due in September and the show went off air as it used to for the summer and then my boss said 'well you've got to come back'.
"I said 'well she's going to be born in September and you go on air in September, I'm 44 I can't just turn up'. And he said 'if you don't come then there's no job for you'."
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A shocked Kate replied: "It sounds like there wasn't a huge amount of empathy."
Fern said: "Because the programme bosses were men. I'm not a man-hater - I am a feminist - but I'm not a man-hater... But they were guys.
"I said [to a producer] 'well unfortunately, I'm 44, the other two pregnancies I had I had to have cesarean and I know that this baby is going to be born by cesarean so I know I won't be able to do anything for the first six weeks anyway'.
"[He said] 'oh my wife was driving after two or three weeks"and I said "oh was she? How old was she?' She was like 30."
Fern, who was the permanent host on Friday, returned to the famous sofa after bosses reached out to her to take over as the main host with co-star John Leslie when Richard and Judy left in 2001.
ITV bosses spoke to Fern and accommodated her return to work requests.
TV favourite Ferne headed into the Big Brother house on Monday.
The Sun revealed this week that Ferne "won't hold back" on the breakdown of her relationship with Phil while on the show.
It comes after she confessed to insiders about "losing trust" after the end of her marriage in 2020.
"Fern spoke to producers in hiding about the breakdown of her marriage, she was really honest," our source said.
"She's been really opening up and says she will talk about it in the House. Fern thinks it's time for her to open up about the divorce and let it all out.
"It's made her lose trust in men because they were together for 20 years. When the relationship broke down it was a really difficult time for her.
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"She's hoping with CBB it's a really good chance to clear all the rumours up once and for all.
"It's also an opportunity for her to step out on her own because even when she was on This Morning, her ex Phil was there."
