TV presenter Fern Britton has had a choppy time aboard the showbiz seas.
First there was the much publicised walk out from This Morning in 2009, after she reportedly realised that co-host Phillip Schofield was being paid more than her, only to be replaced by the fresh- faced Holly Willoughby, who was then just 28.
Now it turns out that Fern was lined up to be one of the stars of Britain's Got Talent, filming the pilot for its forerunner, which was to be called Paul O'Grady's Got Talent.
However, when the show finally came to air, she wasn't part of the judging panel.
In the end Fern was replaced by Amanda Holden according to a version of the story told by the late comedian Paul O'Grady, who was due to host the show, until he got into a dispute with ITV.
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He said: "I did the pilot for Britain's Got Talent – which was originally going to be called Paul O'Grady's Got Talent. But I told the producers they were having a joke if they thought I would front a show with that title.
The original panel of judges was going to be Simon Cowell, Fern Britton and Piers Morgan. I was the host. Then when I had the row with ITV I was banned from the studios."
In Big Brother’s Late and Live show section last night presenter and DJ Jordan North took viewers behind the scenes and broke the news about Fern on the BGT panel, but according to him, it was in fact Piers Morgan who'd replaced her.
"She was actually one of the judges on the first ever Britain's Got Talent pilot. So she could have been on Britain's Got Talent," Jordan said, before adding that she was eventually replaced by journalist Piers Morgan. CBB host Will Best replied: "They're quite similar, Fern and Piers."
It is thought Fern’s confession will be shown on tonight’s live final of ITV’s CBB, where she will compete for the winning place alongside Nikita Kuzmin, Louise Walsh, David Potts and Colson Smith after three weeks together in the house.
Fern has proved to be a popular contestant in the house and so now fans maybe wondering whether she could be in for some more telly gigs in the future.
She certainly has the experience and bravado to capitalise on her current moment in the sun.
Hosted by Ant and Dec, Britain’s Got Talent first aired on ITV in 2007 with Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan on the panel.
Comedian Michael McIntyre replaced Piers Morgan for one series in 2011 before Alesha Dixon and David Walliams joined the panel the following year.
Indeed Fern’s daughter Winnie also featured on Late and Live, where she revealed that she’d like her mother to avoid two-faced Louis Walsh.
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She said: “I think my mum should avoid Louis, just because it seems that he’s always very nice to people’s faces and ends up saying things behind their back. I don’t’ want my mum to be hurt by it.”
