Celebrity Big Brother’s Fern Britton admits she WILL QUIT if her former This Morning colleague Phillip Schofield joins the show

Fern Britton has admitted she will quit Celebrity Big Brother if her former This Morning colleague Phillip Schofield joins the show at the last minute.

The presenter, 66, became a household name presenting the ITV daytime show alongside Philip, 61, from 1999 to 2009, when she was replaced by Holly Willoughby, 43.

And chatting to housemate Gary Goldsmith during Wednesday night’s episode, Fern insisted she wouldn’t want to be in the same house as Phillip.

Gary said: ‘Maybe he (Phillip) is coming as a surprise?’

Fern chimed in, “Well, yeah, I might have to go.”

The TV personality also stated that new This Morning hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard, who will be replacing Phillip and Holly Willoughby on the show, will do a “great job” on the show.

The presenter became a household name presenting the ITV daytime show alongside Philip from 1999 to 2009, when she was replaced by Holly Willoughby, 43 (pictured in 2005).

The presenter reportedly blames Phil for her exit from This Morning and isn’t afraid to speak out in the CBB house.

“She felt she had been badly done when she left This Morning and now wants to tell her side of the story,” a source told OK! Magazine.

“In fact, she blames Philip Scofield for losing her job and believes he had a lot to do with the fact that she was kicked out for a younger model. Now she’s not afraid to speak out and takes no prisoners. Viewers can certainly expect fireworks. He is using it as an opportunity to relaunch his career.

The source added that it is a good opportunity for Fern after becoming “unexpectedly single” after her marriage to TV chef Phil, 62, broke down.

The married couple split in 2020 and in 2022, Phil was seen kissing his former best friend Lorraine Stanton.

“She feels like she’s been through a tough time recently: she’s been open about her gastric band and also divorced her husband of 20 years, Phil Vickery,” the source added.

A representative for Fern told MailOnline: “Fern has already said everything she wants to say about Philip Scofield and his departure from This Morning 15 years ago and will be making no further comment.”

It was claimed at the time of Fern’s exit on This Morning that she felt “undervalued by ITV” and was “living in Phil’s shadow”.

It was also reported that she was paid £250,000 a year less than Phil and that he earned three times her salary when they headed Mr and Mrs together from 2008 to 2010.

Phil is said to have earned £45,000 an hour, while Fern earned just £15,000.

However, Fern denied leaving ITV over her salary and, upon her departure, mentioned the entire This Morning team rather than just Phillip.

Four years after her departure, Phillip admitted that he and Fern were no longer speaking.

Last year, Fern confirmed that although she had a “wonderful” time working on This Morning, she had not kept in touch with Phillip.

She said: “We were involved in the show and were mates at the time, but we don’t really (talk anymore).”