She famously took over her coveted job on This Morning.
But Fern Britton proved she could still give her successor Holly Willoughby a run for her money as she shared a new social media snap to plug her latest book.
The presenter, 67, showed off her ageless complexion as she celebrated the release of her new novel A Cornish Legacy with a post on Instagram on Thursday.
The star also showed off her impressive five stone weight loss, having spoken openly about her struggles over the years.
She captioned the post: ‘A Cornish Legacy is out tomorrow! I’m very excited to see if you like it.’
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Fern Britton proved she could still give her successor Holly Willoughby (right) a run for her money as she shared a new social media snap to plug her latest book
The snap was also eerily similar to an image posted by Holly, while she promoted her Wylde Library, a collection of books on the official brand’s website which is guided by recommendations from her fans.
Fern recently revealed the turning point behind her dramatic weight loss in an interview with Woman&Home magazine.
The presenter reflected on the powerful moment she decided to take back control of her health.
She told the publication: ‘People often wonder when you lose lots of weight whether you’ve done it naturally.
‘And I can look at you and say, “Yes, I have”.’
‘I had my shoulder replacement 18 months ago, and two-and-a-half years ago, when I saw the surgeon, he said, “I’m going to totally replace your shoulder, I’ll see you in a year.”
‘I thought, “I need to get my life back on track. I need to stop smoking, stop drinking, get eating under control and stop lying in bed feeling sorry for myself”.
‘So I started the Couch to 5k, took about 80 per cent of the sugar out of my life and started to think about what I was eating, which I had never done before.’
Fern has long been open about her weight struggles, having fluctuated between a size 22 and a size 12 over the years, and she recently unveiled her five stone weight loss
A Cornish Legacy centres on Wilderhoo – a fictional 1,000-year-old Cornish house that has gone to rack and ruin
Five years ago, the presenter moved permanently into her Cornish holiday home before renovating it ‘bit by bit’.
A Cornish Legacy, which is Fern’s 11th novel, took the star two years to write – twice longer than normal.
Fern has long enjoyed storytelling, releasing her first novel New Beginnings 2011, two years after leaving This Morning.
But since Covid she has been prolific in her writing, penning Daughters Of Cornwall in 2020 and The Good Servant two years later, with the hotly-anticipated A Cornish Legacy set for release in June.
The Sunday Times bestselling author recently took to Instagram to reveal the cover of her new book, which promises another historical adventure on the south-west coastline.
In a caption, Fern excitedly announced: ‘Hello everyone! I’m delighted to share the cover of my new novel, A Cornish Legacy, out in hardback, eBook and audio in June.
‘Enter Wilder Hoo House and discover its secrets!
Nestled against the rugged Atlantic coast of Cornwall comes a heart-warming story of new beginnings and finding home where you least expect it…
‘You can pre-order A Cornish Legacy with the link in my bio! Love, Fern. x #ACornishLegacy.’
Fern has twin sons Harry and Jack, 31, and daughter Grace, 27, from her first marriage, to Clive Jones, and daughter Winnie, 23, with Phil Vickery.
She recently admitted that while she does get ‘lonely’, she is still not looking for love five years on from her split.
The couple’s 20-year marriage came to an end in 2020 following the deaths of Fern’s parents, which reportedly caused the pair to realise that they had to ‘follow their own paths’.
She told Woman & Home: ‘I’m not looking for love – I’m still a bit too wary of losing my liberty.
‘There’s nobody to run something past but, on the other hand, I think back to running things past people and it never really worked out, so why don’t I just make my own decision? Then I’m the only person who can go, ‘I f***ed up there.’
Fern’s move into authoring came shortly after her departure from This Morning where she became a household name alongside Philip Schofield from 1999 to 2009, when she was replaced by Holly Willoughby.
She reportedly blames Phil for her This Morning exit and isn’t afraid to speak out in the CBB house.
It was claimed at the time of Fern’s This Morning exit she felt ‘undervalued by ITV’ and that she was ‘living in Phil’s shadow’.
It was also reported she was being paid £250,000 a year less than Phil and that he was earning three times her salary when they were fronting Mr and Mrs together from 2008 to 2010.
Phil is said to have banked £45,000 an hour while Fern earned just £15,000.
However, Fern denied she left ITV because of her salary and upon her departure she mentioned the whole This Morning team rather than just Phillip.
Four years after her departure, Phillip admitted he and Fern no longer spoke.
