Celebrity Big Brother star Fern Britton's feud with Phillip Schofield explained
According to speculation, the once strong bond between Phillip Schofield and Fern Britton on their show This Morning, may have deteriorated. (Getty Images)
It's rumored that Fern Britton might reveal details of her conflict with Phillip Schofield while she stays in the Celebrity Big Brother residence.
After working as a host on This Morning, Fern Britton has transitioned into an author. She'll be featured in the first season of ITV's revived reality show, alongside several other famous stars. For nearly a decade, Britton co-hosted This Morning with Philip Schofield before leaving in 2009.
Throughout the years, Britton, who is currently 66 years old, has suggested that she was not treated fairly while working on the show. However, she has never explicitly addressed the speculated conflict between her and Schofield. Prior to the potential revelation of the former Ready Steady Cook host's experiences during her stay in the CBB house, we are reviewing all of the comments she has made thus far about her departure from This Morning.
The people from Yahoo UK have reached out to the representatives of Britton, Schofield, and This Morning to give their opinion.
Fern Britton and Phillip Schofield were the co-hosts of the ITV program This Morning for a period of seven years. (ITV/Shutterstock)
In 2002, Schofield became a co-host of This Morning and took over from John Leslie, who was the previous co-host of Britton. They seemed to have a good on-screen relationship, and they regularly laughed together on the show. However, rumors began to circulate that their friendship had become distant. Britton eventually left the show in 2009, and Willoughby took over as her replacement. Willoughby had previously filled in for Britton during her holidays and illness, and had also co-hosted with Schofield in the past.
Britton expressed feeling mistreated during her time on the show. During an interview on RTE radio in 2020, she shared that she no longer found pleasure in her job and unexpectedly resigned one morning. Britton explained that something occurred that made her realize she couldn't continue working there, leading her to resign. She felt that her treatment on the show was subpar, and eventually reached a point where she simply didn't care anymore.
Fern Britton has refuted claims that she left This Morning due to Phillip Schofield's higher salary. (Getty Images)
Following Britton's departure from the show, speculations arose that she had resigned due to a disagreement over her salary. This was allegedly attributed to her finding out that Schofield was being paid over £250,000 more than her for performing the same role. However, Britton has consistently refuted these allegations.
During an interview with Hello! magazine, she stated that the allegations were false. She was unaware of Phillip's salary and only knew her own, which was satisfactory. Although she supports equal pay, she acknowledges that at the time, Phillip was working on more television programs, so it would make sense for him to earn more, regardless of gender.
During an interview with RTE radio in 2020, she stated that there was a continuous rumor about her departure being influenced by Phillip's higher salary. She always questions people saying why would she leave the show for no reason if salary was a concern.
The old representative of Fern Britton referred to Phillip Schofield as a 'master manipulator'. (Getty Images)
Jon Roseman, who used to represent Britton, recently referred to Schofield as a "master manipulator" and alleged that he attempted to take charge of the show. Last year, a contentious situation arose between Schofield and Amanda Holden when reports surfaced that he prevented her from substituting for Holly Willoughby as his co-host. While ITV and Schofield refuted these allegations, Holden continued to make subtle digs insinuating that there was tension between the two.
At this moment, Roseman, the former agent of Britton, informed the Daily Mail that he had been meddling with the program's editorial content right from the start. Fern had always entrusted this task to the editor, but it was too late when she realized her error and attempted to rectify it. By that time, his grip on the situation had become too firm.
They worked well together, almost like the clashing duo of Eamonn Holmes and Anthea Turner. He became friends with Simon Shaps, who was the head of the network center at the time. Once they became friends, all barriers were removed and he was able to get whatever he desired.
Phillip Schofield and Fern Britton had a disagreement in front of the public concerning an invitation for an awards event. (Image source: Getty)
In 2018, Britton and Schofield had a bit of an uncomfortable reunion during a special event celebrating the TV show's 30th anniversary. Britton couldn't attend in person, so she appeared through a video link to congratulate Schofield and Willoughby on their award. Britton expressed her delight and admiration but also mentioned that she didn't receive an invitation to the event and felt saddened by that fact.
A disagreement arose between Schofield and Britton in the public eye when Schofield accused Britton on social media of turning down an invitation. He wrote on Twitter, "It's strange because we invited her but she refused #memoryloss We would have been delighted if she attended. She's an important and well-liked member of the show." Britton responded by saying, "That's not true. I never received an invitation to refuse."
However, she later corrected herself by admitting that she was actually invited but her representatives had not conveyed the message to her. She expressed relief by saying, "I'm grateful for being invited even though I wasn't informed about it. Looking forward to meeting you all at the next @BAFTA event. Kisses! xxxx."
Phillip Schofield reminisced about his past collaborations with Fern Britton on This Morning. (Images were obtained from Getty.)
When Schofield's 400th anniversary of being in television was celebrated by This Morning in 2022, one of the presenters who contributed by sending a congratulatory video message was Britton. In her message, she expressed admiration for the incredible achievement of forty years in television and encouraged Schofield to pause and take pride in all that he has accomplished. Britton also wished him a happy and successful future as he continues to move forward in his career. Overall, her message was one of admiration and encouragement for a well-deserved milestone.
Scofield reminisced about working alongside Fern as the producers played a clip of his first day presenting the show in 2002. He expressed his delight and surprise at seeing the footage, recalling how nervous he was at the time. However, he warmly remembered how kind and supportive Fern had been to him during that experience.
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