‘My family's BIG SECRET'

Newly single Fern Britton reveals the scandal that rocked her entire family…

- GEORGIA FARQUHARSON

Fern Britton is enjoying a quieter life in Cornwall after turning the holiday home she shared with husband Phil Vickery into her permanent base following their shock split earlier this year.

And she’s using the downtime for her writing, with the Cornish retreat providing the perfect haven to inspire creativity.

But not all of Fern’s inspiration is as bright and bubbly as the TV star herself, with Fern, 62, recently opening up about the family scandal that forms the basis of her latest novel, Daughters of Cornwall.

Here, Fern reveals more about the illegitimate son her grandmother kept hidden for decades…

THE BIG FAMILY SECRET

Fern has been harbouring a secret since the 80s that has only emerged as her new book, Daughters of Cornwall, is inspired by it.

Telling the story of her grandmother Beryl’s ‘secret child’, Fern reveals, ‘Just before World War One, my mother’s mother fell in love with somebody. We’re not sure who, but she had a baby.’

Although Fern’s grandmother was forced to give the baby away as it was out of wedlock, Fern admits he later reached out after seeing her on television. ‘He came into our lives in the 80s,’ she explains. ‘He wrote to me when I was on television, asking, “Is this your mother…” and “is this your grandmother?”’