'I've found PEACE'

Author and TV presenter Fern Britton is revelling in her new Cornish life

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Fern Britton is wearing a gorgeous sparkler. It looks like a giant diamond and it catches the light as she gesticulates during our chat. Interestingly, Fern is wearing it on her wedding ring finger.

Wait, does it mean Fern has some surprise news to share about developments in her personal life?! When I ask, she laughs. ‘I was in Turkey a couple of weeks ago,’ says Fern. ‘My [late] father’s partner Jane, had rung me up and said, “Darling, we’re going to Istanbul.” And I got this ring for 50 quid in the bazaar. I just thought, “I want something sparkly on my hand.” It doesn’t stand for anybody or anything, it’s just for me. It looks pretty good, doesn’t it?’

It certainly does, and it feels like it’s saying something about how Fern is feeling about herself. The 65-year-old is prioritising her own needs for what feels like the first time in a long time. She is emerging from a turbulent few years following the 2020 divorce from her husband of 20 years, celebrity chef Phil Vickery, and the deaths of both her parents, Ruth, and actor Tony Britton, in 2018 and 2019 respectively.