Fern Britton sent a surprise message to former This Morning co-host Phillip Schofield to mark 40 years of his TV career, following years of reports of a feud between the pair.
The duo presented the ITV daytime show together between 2002 and 2009, and while they had been famed for their close on-screen relationship, things between them turned sour following her exit.
However, as Lorraine Kelly hosted a special edition of her show dedicated to Phil’s 40th anniversary of working in TV on Monday, Fern made a surprise appearance in a pre-recorded video message.
“Forty years is an incredible milestone, and it’s time for you to just stop and look back and see all that you have achieved, and be proud of it,” she said.
“I’m wishing you a very happy future. Congratulations and keep going.”
Reacting to the video, Phil said: “That is really nice. Thank you very much.”
Following Fern’s exit from This Morning, after which she was replaced by Holly Willoughby, it was rumoured she’d fallen out with Phil in a row about pay, although she has denied this on a number of occasions.
Instead, she claimed that she had stopped enjoying working on the show as following an undisclosed incident on the morning she resigned that prompted her to hand her notice in.
In his 2020 autobiography, Phil shed light on what he believed to be the cause of their fall-out, which came after Fern apparently accused him of “meddling” in the show’s content.
“I walked back into the makeup room and calmly said, ‘Please don’t do that to me again,’” he said. “I think, for whatever reason, that was the point Fern decided she didn’t want to do This Morning any more.
“When she announced that she was leaving I was heartbroken. Heartbroken that our friendship had inexplicably gone so sour, and heartbroken because I’d never had a presenting partnership like that before.”
Phil admitted that he did not receive a message from Fern when he came out as gay in February 2020, but she did contact his wife Steph – an act that he described as “really kind”.
He added: “I have tried over the years to make it right, but Fern has moved on, and I understand that. I still miss her deeply though, and in recent times would have valued her counsel.”
Tensions between Fern and Phil bubbled over live on air in 2018 when she made an appearance via video link during a special episode to mark This Morning’s 30th anniversary.
A public exchange on social media then followed, amid claims Fern had been snubbed from a special Bafta event that was part of the celebrations – although it was later revealed her invitation had simply not been passed on by her team.
During Monday’s celebration of his 40 years on TV, Phillip also received messages of congratulations from original This Morning presenters Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan and friends Ant and Dec.
Lorraine airs weekdays at 9am on ITV, with This Morning following at 10am.