FERN Britton has taken a new swipe at Phillip Schofield - saying she would still be on This Morning if it wasn’t for their feud.
The TV host, 66, has opened up about the game-changing moment in 2009 where she decided to leave the ITV daytime show after falling out with Schofield.
At the time, she thanked fans for their "kindness and loyalty" but said she was "looking forward to the freedom of exploring other things".
Fern hasn’t spoken to Schofield in the 15 years since, but has now made no secret of him being to blame for her exit.
In an interview with MailOnline, she confirmed Schofield was the major factor that contributed to her saying goodbye to the show.
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When asked, she said: “To leave This Morning? Ultimately, yes. I loved it and I would probably still be there if… Phillip and I were not getting on very well at that stage.”
While she stopped short of explaining what exactly went down to cause her to leave, she later added: "Lots of the men you work with are much more fussed about their piece to camera and how many words they’ve got than they are about you."
Fern has continued to be cautious about saying thing around Phillip and their fallout, saying before entering Celebrity Big Brother this year she was approaching the subject with “caution and kindness”.
However, she added: "It’s fair to say that towards the end we were not getting on. Things were tricky."
She later joked she “might have to leave” if he was to walk into the house as a late housemate.
Phillip has also largely remained tight-lipped about what happened, though in his 2020 memoir, Life's What You Make It, he suggested it was down to an argument they had over an episode of This Morning.
He remained on the show, with Holly Willoughby taking over from Fern, until 2023, when he quit ITV after an “unwise but not illegal” affair with a younger male colleague came to light.
Holly, who around the same time suffered a terrifying incident involving a stalker, also chose to leave shortly thereafter.
Since then, Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard have become the lead anchors of the magazine-style show, with Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary also sharing the hosting duties.
Fern is now hoping her stint on CBB could trigger a comeback in her career, which slightly dwindled after her exit from This Morning.
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An insider said: “Fern is planning her big TV comeback. She’s desperate to do her own chat show and is already in talks with TV networks.
"CBB has done her the world of good, the public forgot how likeable she is, but the show has given her that new lease of life.
"It’s no secret she was treated badly before, and it put her off doing TV again, but now she feels ready to be back on screens.”
