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Fern Britton (born 17 July 1957) is an English author and television presenter. She co-presented ''
Breakfast Time'' in the 1980s, coming to mainstream national attention when hosting cookery game show ''
Ready Steady Cook
''Ready Steady Cook'' is a BBC daytime TV cooking game show. It debuted on 24 October 1994 and the last original edition was broadcast on 2 February 2010. The programme was hosted by Fern Britton from 1994 until 2000 when celebrity chef Ainsley ...
'' between 1994 and 2000 on
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
. She presented ITV's ''
This Morning'' programme from 1999 to 2009. In 2012, she participated in ''
Strictly Come Dancing'', where she was paired with professional dancer
Artem Chigvintsev. Since 2010, she has also published a number of bestselling novels and books of short stories and non-fiction.
Early life and education
Britton was born in
Ealing, London, to English actor
Tony Britton
Anthony Edward Lowry Britton (9 June 1924 – 22 December 2019) was an English actor. He appeared in a variety of films (including ''The Day of the Jackal'') and television sitcoms (including '' Don't Wait Up'' and '' Robin's Nest''
He is the f ...
and his first wife, Ruth Hawkins. She attended
Dr Challoner's High School in
Little Chalfont
Little Chalfont is a village and civil parish in south-east Buckinghamshire, England. It is one of a group of villages known collectively as The Chalfonts, which also comprises Chalfont St Giles and Chalfont St Peter. Little Chalfont is located ...
, Buckinghamshire, and the
Central School of Speech and Drama
The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. It became a ...
, where she trained in
stage management.
Career
Early work as a presenter
After working with The Cambridge Theatre Company, Britton began her broadcasting career in March 1980 in Plymouth working for
Westward Television
Westward Television was the first ITV (TV network), ITV franchise-holder for the South West England, South West of England. It held the franchise from 29 April 1961 until 31 December 1981. After a difficult start, Westward Television provided a ...
, the then-incumbent ITV regional company, as a continuity announcer and newsreader on the weeknightly local bulletin ''Westward Diary''. After Westward lost
its franchise at the end of 1981, Britton moved to the local
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
headquarters as a presenter with ''
Spotlight
Spotlight or spot light may refer to:
Lighting
* Spot lights, automotive auxiliary lamps
* Spotlight (theatre lighting)
* Spotlight, a searchlight
* Stage lighting instrument, stage lighting instruments, of several types
Art, entertainment, an ...
'' in the South West, before moving to
BBC 1
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
's ''
Breakfast Time'', where she became the BBC's youngest-ever national news presenter. She was also a stand-in co-presenter on ''
News After Noon'' during this period.
Britton then worked for
TVS in
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
, co-hosting the South edition of the news programme ''
Coast to Coast'' with
Fred Dinenage, as well as ''Coast to Coast People'', ''The Television Show'', ''Magic Moments'' and, as presenter with
Stefan Buczacki
Stefan T. Buczacki (born 16 October 1945) is a British horticulturist, botanist, biographer, novelist and broadcaster.
Early life
Buczacki grew up in Duffield, Derbyshire, where he was educated at The Ecclesbourne School. He gained a first-clas ...
, of ''That's Gardening''. She stayed until TVS's franchise ended in December 1992.
In January 1993, she joined
London News Network
London News Network (or LNN) was a television news, production and facilities organisation in London. It was created in 1992 as a joint operation between London's two ITV contractors, Carlton Television and London Weekend Television, with each ...
's ''
London Tonight
''ITV News London'' is a British television news service broadcast on both ITV London and the ITV Hub. It is produced by ITN.
History
London News Network
The programme launched on Monday 4 January 1993 as ''London Tonight'', after Carlton ...
'', before moving in April 1993 to
GMTV to present the post-9:00 am slot, ''Top of the Morning''. Britton moved back to
Carlton Television to present ''After Five'' in 1994. She also appeared in the first two series of ''
The Brian Conley Show''.
ITV
Britton had guest presented ''
This Morning'' since 1993, but from September 1999 she became a full-time host presenting the Friday edition with
John Leslie. In 2002, she became the main host of the series along with John Leslie and, later, with
Phillip Schofield
Phillip Bryan Schofield (born 1 April 1962) is an English television presenter who works for ITV. He is currently the co-presenter of ITV's '' This Morning'' (2002–present) and ''Dancing on Ice'' (2006–2014, 2018–present) alongside Holl ...
.
In 2006, Britton co-presented the reality television show ''
Soapstar Superstar
''Soapstar Superstar'' is a British talent show that aired on ITV from 6 January 2006 to 13 January 2007. The show's format works in a similar format to that of '' Pop Idol'' and ''The X Factor'', in that the competition features a group of ...
''. On 31 May 2007, she hosted the
Classical Brit Awards at the
Royal Albert Hall and she also co-hosted
The British Soap Awards
The British Soap Awards (BSAs) are an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom which honours the best moments in British soap operas. The ceremony is televised on ITV and has been presented by Phillip Schofield since 2006. The trophies gi ...
from 2006 until 2008 with
Phillip Schofield
Phillip Bryan Schofield (born 1 April 1962) is an English television presenter who works for ITV. He is currently the co-presenter of ITV's '' This Morning'' (2002–present) and ''Dancing on Ice'' (2006–2014, 2018–present) alongside Holl ...
.
In 2007, Britton presented her own ITV Saturday night series called ''That's What I Call Television''. In each show, she was joined by a celebrity co-host who selected their favourite TV moments from the 1980s and then reunited some of the original stars of selected shows.
Julian Clary
Julian Peter McDonald Clary (born 25 May 1959) is an English actor, comedian, novelist and presenter. He began appearing on television in the mid-1980s. Since then he has also acted in films, television and stage productions, numerous pantomim ...
was her first co-host, followed by
Matthew Kelly
Matthew Kelly (born David Allan Kelly, 9 May 1950) is an English actor and presenter. Having been trained as a theatre actor, he first came to public prominence as a television presenter of ITV light entertainment shows such as '' Game for a ...
on the second show, and finally
Bradley Walsh
Bradley John Walsh (born 4 June 1960) is an English actor, comedian, singer, television presenter, and former professional footballer.
Walsh is known for his roles as Danny Baldwin in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' (2004–2006), a ...
for the third. In December 2007, a Christmas edition was broadcast with co-host
Ronnie Corbett
Ronald Balfour Corbett (4 December 1930 – 31 March 2016) was a Scottish actor, broadcaster, comedian and writer. He had a long association with Ronnie Barker in the BBC television comedy sketch show ''The Two Ronnies''. He achieved promine ...
, and a week later another was broadcast, this time with
Desmond Lynam.
From 2008 until 2010, Britton co-presented a revival of the ITV show ''
Mr & Mrs;'' this time it was an "
All Star" version. She co-hosted the show with
Phillip Schofield
Phillip Bryan Schofield (born 1 April 1962) is an English television presenter who works for ITV. He is currently the co-presenter of ITV's '' This Morning'' (2002–present) and ''Dancing on Ice'' (2006–2014, 2018–present) alongside Holl ...
.
In November 2008, Britton announced she was to take a break from ''This Morning'' and return after the Christmas break in January 2009. Britton announced on 25 March 2009 that she was leaving ''This Morning'', after 10 years, at the end of the current series. Two days after quitting ''This Morning'', Britton pulled out of hosting the 2009
British Soap Awards
The British Soap Awards (BSAs) are an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom which honours the best moments in British soap operas. The ceremony is televised on ITV and has been presented by Phillip Schofield since 2006. The trophies gi ...
alongside co-host Phillip Schofield.
On 17 July 2009, Britton's 52nd birthday, her farewell ''This Morning'' programme was aired. Britton made her comeback to
ITV in 2017, presenting daytime series ''
Culinary Genius''. She also presented ''A Right Royal Quiz'' for the channel.
BBC
From 1994, Britton presented the television cookery gameshow ''
Ready Steady Cook
''Ready Steady Cook'' is a BBC daytime TV cooking game show. It debuted on 24 October 1994 and the last original edition was broadcast on 2 February 2010. The programme was hosted by Fern Britton from 1994 until 2000 when celebrity chef Ainsley ...
'', which she continued until 2000. Britton has appeared twice as a panellist on the BBC show, ''
Have I Got News for You'', and guest presented on 27 April 2007 and on 17 October 2008. In 2009, Britton returned to the BBC and was a team captain on the
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
trivia panel show ''
As Seen on TV
As seen on TV is a generic nameplate for products advertised on television in the United States for direct-response mail-order through a toll-free telephone number. ''As Seen on TV'' advertisements, known as infomercials, are usually 30-minute sho ...
''.
Since 2009, Britton hosted a series for BBC One called ''
Fern Britton Meets...'' in which she interviewed high-profile personalities about their religious beliefs. The series attracted particular attention for an interview with former Prime Minister
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
, in which he said he still would have thought it right that Iraqi president
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...
be removed even without evidence he had
weapons of mass destruction
A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to numerous individuals or cause great damage to artificial structures (e.g., buildings), natu ...
.
Since 2014, Britton has presented ''
The Big Allotment Challenge
''The Big Allotment Challenge'' is a British game show that has aired on BBC Two between 15 April 2014 and 17 February 2015. It is hosted by Fern Britton and is about gardening in Britain.
The three judges are Jim Buttress (for the "grow challe ...
'' for
BBC Two. The series was commissioned for a second series which aired in early 2015. In January 2016, she began presenting the
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
antiques game show ''
For What It's Worth
"For What It's Worth (Stop, Hey What's That Sound)" (often referred to as simply "For What It's Worth") is a song written by Stephen Stills. Performed by Buffalo Springfield, it was recorded on December 5, 1966, released as a single on Atco Reco ...
''.
Channel 4
On 2 November 2009, Britton appeared as a stand-in host on ''
The Paul O'Grady Show
''The Paul O'Grady Show'' is a British comedy chat show presented by comedian Paul O'Grady, first shown on 11 October 2004. The programme is a teatime chat show consisting of a mixture of celebrity guests, comic stunts, musical performances, a ...
'' for two weeks.
On 2 February 2011, it was confirmed that Britton would be taking over the 5:00 pm chatshow slot on
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
that Paul O'Grady previously hosted. The show, ''
Fern
A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes exce ...
'', began on 28 March 2011. The programme drew low audience figures and was reported to be facing a revamp, change of timeslot or cancellation after its second week on air. The show has since been confirmed as axed in its present form but Britton may work on other projects for Channel 4.
''Strictly Come Dancing''
On 10 September 2012, Britton was confirmed as one of the 14 celebrities taking part in the
tenth series of ''
Strictly Come Dancing''. Her professional partner was
Artem Chigvintsev.
Other work
In 1988, Britton took part in ''
Cinderella
"Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...
'', a pantomime in which she played the role of
Dandini at the
Mayflower Theatre in
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
. She was presenting ''Coast to Coast'' from the city at the time and her preparation for the part was filmed for the programme.
Britton has featured in advertisements for several companies and causes, including appearances as herself in advertisements for several Ryvita Minis, and in the 2007 ''
What's it going to take?'' campaign for the charitable organisation
Women's Aid.
March 1998 saw the launch of Britton's first book, ''Fern's Family Favourites'', published by
André Deutsch
André Deutsch (15 November 1917 – 11 April 2000) was a Hungarian-born British publisher who founded an eponymous publishing company in 1951.
Biography
Deutsch was born on 15 November 1917 in Budapest, Hungary, the son of a Jewish dentis ...
and written with the cook and home economist Susie Magasiner. In November 2008, ''Fern, My Story'' was published by
Michael Joseph. It went straight into ''
The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...
'' Top Ten Bestseller list where it remained for 12 weeks. Britton has written 6 novels ''New Beginnings'', ''Hidden Treasures'', ''The Holiday Home'', ''A Seaside Affair'', ''A Good Catch'' and ''The Postcard'' to date (November 2016). All have been in ''The Sunday Times'' bestseller list. In 2016, she signed a three-book deal with the publishers
HarperCollins
HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News ...
and is working on a television script.
She was the subject of ''
This Is Your Life'' in 2002 when she was surprised by
Michael Aspel
Michael Terence Aspel (born 12 January 1933) is an English retired television newsreader and host of programmes such as '' Crackerjack'', ''Aspel & Company'', '' Give Us a Clue'', ''This is Your Life'', '' Strange but True?'' and ''Antiques Ro ...
at Wickham Hospital in Buckinghamshire.
In May 2011, Britton played herself in a short independently made film by Mark Davenport called ''Photoshopping'' alongside lead Joan Kempson.
In January 2018, it was announced that Britton would play Marie in the touring production of ''Calendar Girls The Musical''.
Personal life
Britton's first marriage was to TV executive
Clive Jones. The couple met while Jones was still married and began an affair. Britton broke off their affair after a year but Jones turned up on her doorstep two days later, after leaving his wife for her. The couple married on 12 November 1988 in Southsea and have three children together: twin sons Jack and Harry (born 1994) and daughter Grace (born 1997). Her marriage to Jones disintegrated shortly after the birth of their daughter and the couple separated in January 1998. A year later, Britton began dating celebrity chef
Phil Vickery after they met on the set of
BBC Two's ''
Ready Steady Cook
''Ready Steady Cook'' is a BBC daytime TV cooking game show. It debuted on 24 October 1994 and the last original edition was broadcast on 2 February 2010. The programme was hosted by Fern Britton from 1994 until 2000 when celebrity chef Ainsley ...
''. After her divorce was finalised, they married in spring 2000.
Vickery and Britton announced on their Twitter accounts on 29 January 2020 that they were separating after 20 years of marriage.
Filmography
;Television
Bibliography
Novels
*''New Beginnings'' (2011)
*''Hidden Treasures'' (2012)
*''The Holiday Home'' (2013)
*''A Seaside Affair'' (2014)
*''A Good Catch'' (2015)
*''The Postcard'' (2016)
*''Coming Home'' (2018)
*''The Newcomer'' (2019)
*''Daughters of Cornwall'' (2020)
Short stories
*''The Stolen Weekend'' (2014)
*''A Cornish Carol'' (2014)
*''The Beach Cabin'' (2015)
*''A Cornish Gift'' (2017)
Non-fiction
*''Fern’s Family Favourites'' (1998)
*''Winter Treats and Summer Delights'' (with Susie Magasiner) (1999)
*''Fern and Phil's Family Food'' (with Phil Vickery) (2003)
*''Fern: The Autobiography'' (2008)
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Britton, Fern
1957 births
Living people
Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
British television newsreaders and news presenters
British women television journalists
English game show hosts
English television journalists
English television presenters
English women journalists
GMTV presenters and reporters
ITV regional newsreaders and journalists
People educated at Dr Challoner's High School
People from Ealing