Fern Britton has made a startling claim about one of the darkest moments of her early television career, alleging that a BBC Breakfast editor once locked her in an office and berated her so severely that she broke down in tears.
The former This Morning presenter, 68, recalled the painful episode during an appearance on James O’Brien’s Full Disclosure podcast, describing a period of her career that she said was “very, very difficult”.
Fern claimed the incident took place during her time on the BBC’s breakfast programme, then known as Breakfast Time, where she worked as part of the original presenting team in the early 1980s.
According to Fern, the confrontation began while she was still on air. She alleged that an editor walked through the studio midway through the morning broadcast and told her she was “terrible” and “awful” — before ordering her to sit back down and continue presenting for another hour.
But Fern said the ordeal did not end when the cameras stopped rolling. After the show, she claimed she was called into the editor’s office, where he and a deputy editor proceeded to “shred” her.
The broadcaster said she was left crying heavily, describing the experience as deeply damaging. She claimed she was then told she could not leave the office until she had put her make-up back on, suggesting she believed he did not want others to see she had been crying.
“What he did was really bad,” Fern said. “It really decimated me.”
Although Fern initially referred to This Morning during the podcast conversation, a representative later clarified that she had been speaking about BBC Breakfast, previously known as Breakfast Time.
Fern worked on Breakfast Time from 1983 to 1984, joining a high-profile presenting line-up that included Frank Bough, Selina Scott, Debbie Rix, Francis Wilson and Mike Smith. The programme later became Breakfast News in 1989 before eventually being relaunched as BBC Breakfast in 2000.
The veteran presenter also spoke candidly about what she described as the difficult culture of broadcasting at the time. She claimed she felt unhappy on the show and believed she was disliked by some of her colleagues.
During the same interview, Fern recalled an uncomfortable early meeting with Frank Bough, alleging that he made a sexually inappropriate remark to her during a lunch after she joined the team. Reflecting on the moment, Fern said she was not defending it, but added that it reflected the atmosphere of the era.
“That was the way it was,” she said. “I’m not saying it’s right, but that’s how it was.”
Fern also claimed that Selina Scott had a difficult time working with Bough, suggesting the atmosphere behind the scenes was far from the polished image viewers saw on screen each morning.
After leaving the BBC, Fern went on to become one of daytime television’s most recognisable faces. She later joined ITV’s This Morning, where she co-presented alongside Phillip Schofield between 1999 and 2009.
Her departure from This Morning became the subject of intense speculation, particularly after reports of a fallout with Phillip. The pair’s once-popular on-screen partnership ended in a long-running feud, with Phillip later writing in his autobiography that their relationship was “beyond repair”.
Despite that, Fern has since spoken with warmth about many of their years working together, saying they had “mostly great fun” and made a strong partnership on screen.
Phillip stepped down from This Morning in 2023 after admitting to an “unwise but not illegal” affair with a younger crew member. Fern later reflected that his exit brought up “mixed emotions”, acknowledging how much he had loved his job.
Since leaving daytime television, Fern has built a successful second career as an author, publishing several bestselling novels. She has also continued to appear on television, including Celebrity Big Brother in 2024.
Away from work, Fern has also spoken openly about major changes in her personal life. In 2020, she announced her split from celebrity chef Phil Vickery after 20 years of marriage. She later said she had entered a new phase of life, describing herself as single, relaxed and focused on her wellbeing.
In recent interviews, Fern has revealed that she has been taking better care of herself physically and mentally, turning to yoga and the Couch to 5K running app after realising she had neglected her health.
But her latest comments have cast a harsh light on the pressures and power dynamics of television in the 1980s — and the emotional cost she says she carried from those early years in broadcasting.
