TV favourite Fern Britton has opened up about life after heartbreak, embracing solitude, and finding peace in her quiet Cornwall home.
Now 67, Fern has rebuilt her life five years after her 20-year marriage to TV chef Phil Vickery ended. Though in great shape and more confident than ever, Fern insists she isn’t chasing a return to the spotlight — or to romance.
“I’m not looking for love,” she admitted in a new interview. “I’m still a bit too wary of losing my liberty. I like making my own decisions — even if they’re the wrong ones. At least they’re mine.”
Despite her independence, Fern confessed that writing alone can get lonely. “There are days when I’m quite lonely,” she said. “Cats are great company, but it’s good to admit it.”
Speaking to Woman&Home to promote her 11th novel, A Cornish Legacy, Fern reflects on themes of healing and transformation — ones that closely mirror her own life. The story follows a woman who escapes a broken life in London for a crumbling house in Cornwall — and slowly puts herself back together.
Health-wise, Fern is feeling stronger too. She’s lost weight, stopped smoking and drinking, and even started running. After undergoing shoulder replacement surgery, she felt compelled to take control again. “I thought, ‘I need to stop lying in bed feeling sorry for myself.’”
Still, she’s battling one invisible setback: hearing loss. “I wear hearing aids now, but they drive me mad,” she shared. “I can’t hear people more clearly — just more noise.”
As for television, Fern made a brief return to This Morning last year — but fans hoping for a full-time comeback will be disappointed. “They were fun,” she said of the short films, “but no, I won’t be going back. Never look back, never go back. That’s my motto.”
For Fern, the future lies in books, not broadcasts. “It’s taken me a while to say it,” she smiled, “but yes — I’m an author now.”
