Fern Britton opens up about ITV This Morning exit as she claims show boss 'hated' her: 'He desiccated me!'

Fern Britton has alleged her former boss at ITV's This Morning, Frank Bough, "hated" her while they worked together on the weekday programme.

Ms Britton, 68, presented the ITV show from 1999 to 2009 before leaving.

She has previously explained she had a difficult relationship with editor Mr Bough, and in a recent episode James O'Brien's Full Disclosure podcast, she delved into what happened ahead of her abrupt exit.

"The editor hated me, Frank hated me," she recalled, continuing: "It was made very, very difficult for me.

"There was one morning when the editor walked in at 8am, sort of halfway through the morning, and he came through the forest of cameras, and he said to me, 'You are terrible. You are awful. Now sit down there and do another hour.'

"After the show, he called me into his office. He closed the door, and he locked it. He was in there with his deputy editor - and they just shredded me.

"And I cried and cried and cried. It was a Friday. And he said, 'You're not leaving this office until you put some makeup on.'

"I said, 'Well, it's on the bag on my desk,' and he went, and he got my bag, and I had to put my makeup on in front of him."

"Because he didn't want everyone to know you'd been crying, or?" Mr O'Brien asked.

"What he did was really bad - it desiccated me," Mr Britton admitted.

A preview of the interview was posted to Global Player's Instagram account, prompting shocked viewers to express their outrage on behalf of Ms Britton.

One commented: "'Complicated dynamics?' What Fern has just described is abusive behaviour."

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"Abuse! Misogynistic behaviour," a second posted.

Another penned: "Loved Fern, She was amazing and one of the best."

Someone else added: "Fern you are absolutely amazing... & for me personally you have always been one of the best TV presenters.. So approachable, personal & kind I stopped watching once you left."

A different social media user echoed: "I always thought you were the best and made the show, don't think fern realised how good she was on the show. Sad she was made to leave." (sic)

"This Morning was NEVER the same when Fern left so they shot themselves in the foot as the viewers wanted Fern, shame on them, hope you're ok Fern we the viewers love you!" another wrote. (sic)

"Abuse is abuse," one more remarked.

In recent years, Ms Britton has also opened up about her divorce from Phil Vickery.

Speaking in 2024 to Daily Mail’s Weekend magazine, she explained: “We simply needed to follow our own paths.

“Over time, we realised we weren’t necessarily having the kind of life we once did. It seemed right to say ‘thank you’ and move on."

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