Celebrity Big Brother is back on our screens and as Closer went to press, fans were excited over reports that former daytime presenter Fern Britton would be entering the famous house.
Now, insiders say that the prospect of Fern, 66, going in has left her former co-host Phillip Schofield terrified.
A source says, “Fern is going into CBB for a lot of reasons. She believes her voice was never heard after she left This Morning and wants her feelings to be known, especially about Phillip Schofield.
“Phillip is panicking as Fern knows a lot and feels very hard done by with how she was treated. She blames him and is not going to hold back on the topic. This is her time now.”
Fern and Phillip co-hosted This Morning together between 2003 and 2009. But rumours about them having a major bust up began when Fern made a surprise announcement that she was leaving the show less than halfway through her contract and didn’t include Phillip’s name in her leaving statement.
Four years later, in 2013, Phil confirmed in an interview that the pair were “not really” in touch anymore. In his 2020 book, Life Is What You Make It, Phil revealed he had an awkward row with Fern in 2009 when she accused him of “meddling” with the content of the show.
He wrote, “I walked back into the make-up room and calmly said, ‘Please don’t do that to me again’.”
He added, “I think, for whatever reason, that was the point Fern decided she didn’t want to do This Morning anymore.”
While Fern disappeared from the spotlight, Phil thrived alongside Holly Willoughby, with reports at the time claiming he got Fern sacked for Holly.
But Phillip was hit with more drama last May, which saw him confess to an “unwise but illegal” affair with a much younger male colleague, forcing him to sensationally quit the show.
Weeks later, Fern caused a stir when she revealed she had been catching up with her former This Morning co-presenter Eamonn Holmes, who had launched an attack on Phillip.
She said that she and the GB News host had been “shooting the breeze” during the catch up, as fans speculated about their topic of conversation.
“Unexpected calls from old mates are so lovely. Just had the loveliest catch up with Eamonn Holmes,” she wrote, adding, “I think we have known each other since the ’80s when we were babies [laughing face]. Shooting the breeze [heart emojis].”
The source explains that Phillip is dreading what Fern may say about their long-standing feud in front of the cameras in the CBB house.
The source says, “Fern going in would be Phillip’s worst nightmare, especially after all he went through last year. He is dreading it as he knows full well that Fern has it in for him.”
Although Fern is adamant that her main reason for going on the show is to kickstart her TV presenting career. The source adds, “Fern feels like now is the time to make her comeback.”