04 March 2024 , 22:14
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Fern Britton warned she has a "potty mouth" but insists she will be "kind" when spilling secrets about Phillip Schofield as she enters the Celebrity Big Brother house.
The former This Morning presenter is joined by the likes of former X factor judge Louis Walsh and Kate Middleton's uncle Gary Goldsmith on the ITV reality show. And in her only in-depth interview before going into the house she said she wanted a new adventure at the age of 66.
Speaking about disgraced Phillip, who she fell out with during their time together on This Morning which she fronted for a decade until 2009. She said: "Apparently I've signed up to spill the beans! Well, right now, I can tell you that I think let's approach with caution and kindness. It’s fair to say that towards the end we were not getting on. Things were tricky.
"There are some things that I think as a collective almost nation there are things you can't and wouldn't want to hear or see or be talked about. I haven't been on that show for 15 years. I don't know anything that's been going on since then. And so it would be A, very old views. B, not terribly interesting, but I did love This Morning. I absolutely loved it. I wasn't expecting to resign on the day I resigned.
Things turned sour between Fern and Phillip Schofield
She has hinted the she will talked about the shamed star in the house (Mike Marsland/Getty Images for Good Housekeeping Live)"There's a lot of stuff that I have obviously learned from and toughened up a bit. And it hasn't all been a breeze, but I don't regret, apart from if I'd put my mind to it, I could have done more." Fern then told how she wanted to go to Basra with This Morning to cover the war but Schofield said he "didn't look good in an orange jumpsuit" and wouldn't go.
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She added: I said, 'I don't think they're going to be taking you hostage and sticking you in Guantanamo Bay'. But anyway, he wouldn't come. So that was fine. And I went with a director, she and I, and whenever we see each other, we’re Basra buddies. We had lots of incoming fire and we were on tanks and we were talking to everybody and it was the most incredible experience and I really enjoyed it."
Viewers are also set to see a new side of mother-of-four Fern on screen, as she will turn the air blue in the house. She added: "I think I've generally been myself[on screen]. They might be surprised at how much I swear! I’ve got a potty mouth. I taught all my children all of the words and how to use them properly. Context is always a thing. Context, never in aggression. Only ever for amusement!
"I've got to try hard not to offend friends of mine who might be offended by that, but hey. I asked all the kids separately because if one of them had said 'really don’t mum', then I wouldn't have, but they all wished me luck and have been very good. One of my girls, she's so funny, she does make me laugh. She said, 'well, of course I'm not going to watch it, mum. It's not my sort of thing'. But then last night she did say she’d watch me on fast forward!"
Fern is one of the more surprising names to say yes on the show, having stayed off screen more in recent years where she had become a successful bestselling author. "I said yes because I could do with an adventure and that was it," she explained. "Foolish! I realise somebody might say I’m expecting more work, no, I'm not. I'm just expecting to have an interesting time and have a laugh, really. Here I am, 67 in the summer and still looking forward to an adventure and everybody who's approaching 60 or is around this age, you can so easily lose confidence.
"The number of women who'd say, “well, nobody looks at me anymore. I'm not whistled at anymore”. Invisible, that's the word. Well, maybe that's a superpower now because you can get away with anything. Let your 60s be your naughtiest decade. Get out while you're still working, while your body's still good, your brain's still good. Enjoy it.
"On St. David's Day this year, 44 years I've been in this industry. Obviously it's slower in the last few years, but yes, I've been doing this and I've been very, very lucky. I've had my time in the sun and now I'm just sitting in the shade reading a book and having a nice time in life."
Fern says she is looking forward to grilling the other celebs for gossip and that side of the show excited her. She insisted the idea of going without home comforts and being seen on camera without professional make up does not worry her. Since splitting from second husband, TV chef Phil Vickery in January 2020, Fern has moved to Cornwall and is no longer someone who worries about looking perfect before she leaves the house.
She said: "Fortunately Cornwall has kicked that out me because in Cornwall it is bad manners almost to be made up and dressed up because “hey, what are you doing?” The little local village closest to me, I'm about two miles away from it, in a little hamlet of houses and they're just fantastic.
"The more faded you look and the more beachy you look, they're just fantastic. When you are a great beauty, Holly Willoughby for instance, has that beautiful face. She's a beauty. I didn't ever have that. I've never been judged by that, which has also been very handy.
"Joan Collins, who can be a bit iffy with women, I've only met her maybe three or four times and every time she's been absolutely charming because I'm clearly not trying to measure myself up to her. So that makes life much easier. I haven't felt nervous yet, but that's because I think I've gone into denial! I'm in denial now. It's like I can't take it on board.
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"But also I think just that whole business of people having to put their facades down when you're in the house, we're all there in our pyjamas and cleaning our teeth and farting and all that, and it does just take away all our artifice, which I think is a good thing."
- Celebrity Big Brother continues tonight at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
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