Fern Britton leaving This Morning

[Abigail]

Richard Madely?

[Chloe O'brien]

It didn't look like him either but the clip was very quick so maybe it was.

[sindydoll]

i think it was john leslie

No they showed a clip of her first day on this morning and she said This is This Morning and I'm Fern Britton not Judy Finnegan but the guy beside her was not John Leslie.

just had a look at that clip on you tube and that guy was richard madeley and then i came accross this on a website:

After Richard and Judy left in 2001 Fern Britton and John Leslie took over, but John was accused of rape and left the show. So, Philip Schofield took his place. Phil proved a better match as co-presenter as Fern. Many viewers fondly call it The Fern and Phil show, as they have made This Morning their own. Richard and Judy had their own show, Richard and Judy on channel 4 and will soon move to UKTV to present their new show.

[Perdita]

It was Richard Madeley

[alan45]

FERN Britton last night revealed how she has buried the hatchet with her former co-host Phillip Schofield - after two years apart.
The star told TV Biz she is back in touch with her old pal from This Morning and Mr & Mrs - and he has sent her a good luck message for her new chat show.

Fern said: "I had a lovely text from Phillip Schofield last night. I can't tell you what it said - it's personal - but it was very nice, very nice indeed.

"I wasn't expecting it - it just came out of the blue last night when I was on my way home in the car. It was very sweet of him."

Fern, 53, quit This Morning just weeks after The Sun revealed Phillip was being paid THREE TIMES as much as her for Mr & Mrs.

He had signed an exclusive £2million deal with ITV so his pay was pre-agreed at £45,000 an episode. But that left just £15,000 in the kitty for Fern.


She was then replaced on This Morning by Phillip's Dancing On Ice co-host Holly Willoughby. After they parted company, Fern and Phillip never spoke publicly about each other.

But now Fern - who is married to This Morning chef Phil Vickery - is full of praise for her old TV partner.

She said: "I watch Dancing On Ice and what he does is brilliant and he knows exactly what he's doing.

"My Phil went out for lunch with him the other day but we haven't had a chance to meet up because he's been busy and I've been busy."

Now Fern is going it alone with her new 5pm weekday show, which kicks off on Channel 4 on Monday.

The programme is called Fern - and she's in two minds about the title.

She said: "It's highly embarrassing that it's called Fern, but I also feel very proud, very flattered."

Fern won't miss being part of a double act on her new show. She plans to draw support from her guests - first up is queen of comedy Miranda Hart - and her audience.

She said: "I've been an individual all my life and I only worked with Phillip for six years. The rest of my time I was an individual doing my thing."


She added: "You know what? I'm not frightened by things any more. I'm fearless. I don't care.

"If it goes well, it goes well. But if not, I tried."

Fern will run for four weeks from Monday and, if it's a hit, will return full-time in the autumn. The presenter is thriving on the pressure.

She said: "I am nervously excited. I'm not having dreams about it yet, but I expect Sunday night I will.

"Usually I dream that I've arrived late and everybody's done it before me and I've let everybody down!"

Fern, who has talked openly about her depression in the past, reckons she's happier than ever - and part of that is thanks to her medication.

She said: "Depression isn't a worry for me any more because I've got my medication absolutely right.

"It's a tiny amount a day and it just tops up my serotonin levels and keeps me fine.

"I'm not hilariously happy and hysterical - I'm just normal."

One thing that doesn't make her cheerful is high definition TV - because it shows the lines on people's faces.

She said: "Everybody looks grim in HD.

"In the olden days in Hollywood they'd have a wonderful lighting man and camera man and people looked gorgeous.

"I can see that HD is lovely for sport and wildlife, but for drama and light entertainment surely you want people to look good. I'll just have to retire when it gets too grim!"

Fern famously had a gastric band fitted to help lose weight but she insists she will never have cosmetic surgery.

And after the BBC ageism row - in which presenter Miriam O'Reilly sued the corporation - Fern caused a stir by suggesting women should accept when their TV careers are over. She said: "Sometimes there's a natural end to anyone's career, male or female."

Yesterday she stood by her comments, saying: "I've always been a freelance which has meant I've never expected to work at the end of a contract.

"I have always accepted that my career will finish at some stage.

"I can't believe it has gone on for 31 years, but it has and it will come to an end.

"And when it comes to an end the key is to know when to leave the party.

"I only say this from a personal point of view.

"I think Miriam is a very fine journalist and she was very courageous in taking everything on and going to court."