Fern Britton previously opened up about going through a period of intense grief after back-to-back losses.
TV legend Fern has been a staple on telly screens for years. From stints on This Morning to Fern Britton: Inside the Vets – which airs today (October 12) – Fern has remained booked and busy.
However, in the past few years Fern has been dealt some tragic heartbreak, including the death of both of her parents and her split from husband Phil Vickery.
And, speaking in 2024, Fern candidly opened up about “being in a dark place” following the heartbreaking ordeals she has endured.
Fern Britton on tragic back-to-back losses
It’s fair to say TV presenter Fern – who now lives at the Cornish seaside – has had a difficult past few years. In 2018, her mother died and, at the end of 2019, Fern’s dad died. Then, in 2020, Fern announced she had split from TV chef husband Phil Vickery after 20 years.
The heartbreaking back-to-back losses had a huge effect on Fern – who resorted to picking up bad habits, including smoking that left her “not breathing well”.
“My mum died, and a year later, my father died, and the next year, my marriage died. I fell into this era of indolence I call it, where I just started just lying in bed later and later and later,” Fern said at the Cheltenham Literary Festival in October 2024.
Fern reveals she ‘was not breathing well’
The TV star went on: “And then really, what was the purpose of getting up and getting dressed or getting showered or cleaning my teeth because I will soon be back in bed.
“Why don’t I start smoking? Yes. Drinking. Yes, eating yes, the whole thing. And then it took me about a year to realise that I put a lot of weight on, that I was not breathing well.”
Fern went on to share that she was “in a very bad place” but “gradually” she managed “to pull myself out of it”.
What else could possibly happen?
Meanwhile in June 2025, talking to the Telegraph, Fern also reflected on the blows she faced over five years ago.
She said: “My mum died in 2018 and my dad died in 2019. And then my marriage died. Next, I discovered that my phone had been hacked for 15 years [by News of the World]. And last year a man who was stalking me for several years went to court and was given a restraining order.
“For a while, I was wondering what else could possibly happen. But lots of women endure difficult stuff. And we just live with it and keep going.”
Watch Fern Britton: Inside the Vets on Sunday (October 12) at 11:30am on ITV1.
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