Fern Britton: I didn't know what Phillip Schofield got paid

19 February 2018

Fern Britton has insisted she never knew how much Phillip Schofield was getting paid when they worked together on 'This Morning'.

Fern Britton

The 60-year-old presenter left the ITV daytime show in 2009 to be replaced by Holly Willoughby. And it was reported that she had quit because of a gender pay gap dispute with bosses after finding out co-host Phillip was paid more than her.

Fern has now spoken out for the first time in eight years and has rubbished the claims that she left because of how much they earned.

She told HELLO! magazine: "That certainly wasn't true, not least because I had no idea what Philip had been paid; I knew what I was being paid and it was more than fair.

"It is appalling that, if you are doing the same job as a man, you are paid less and I am absolutely all for equal pay but at the time, even if Phillip had been paid more than me, he was doing more programmes on television."

Fern - who has three children from her first marriage to TV executive Clive Jones, and a 16-year-old daughter Winnie with her husband of 17 years, TV chef Phil Vickery - admits that it's not right for someone to earn more than another in the same role, but that she was "very happy" with her income from the programme.

She added: "It is wrong for someone else to be paid more than you are for the same job.

"But it's terribly important to find out where your 'enough' is because everybody's different and I was very happy with my 'enough'."

Fern has gone on to become a bestselling novelist, competed on 'Strictly Come Dancing' in 2012 and has continued to present TV shows on ITV.

She insisted she chose to leave 'This Morning' because she wanted to do something else.

Fern said: "I did 10 years of it and I loved that show - I can't tell you how much I loved it. But after 10 years I just felt it was right to stop."

The 'Culinary Genius' presenter - who slimmed down after having a gastric band fitted in 2006 - revealed since turning 60 she feels even more confident.

She said: "When I was younger I was always worrying about how people would perceive me and now I have abandoned that. People like me or they don't and I don't really give a damn anymore! "Of course like all women, some days I think my hair is rubbish and I can't fit into my jeans but then I think: 'I am alive and the world is good."