Fern Britton has opened up about the horrifying time she was sexually assaulted in a lift by a man she had just interviewed. The former This Morning star was working for Television South in the late eighties and early nineties when the incident took place. Fern, 61, told the Daily Mirror: "I remember doing a television show when I worked for TVS. I was in a lift with a man I'd just interviewed.
"He suddenly jumped me and started snogging me. I asked him what on earth he thought he was doing. But it didn't seem to shame him into stopping."
Fern was assaulted in a lift
Fern added: "The fact remains the most privileged person on the planet is still the white male. But unless they can feel as uncomfortable as single women do walking home at night in the dark or getting into a taxi alone, there's always going to be that gap in understanding. There's still a long way to go."
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The presenter is happily married to This Morning celebrity chef Phil Vickery. The couple, who tied the knot in 2000, have a teenage daughter Winnie, 17. The former Ready Steady Cook host also shares daughter Grace, 22, and twin sons Jack and Harry, 25, with her first husband, TV executive Clive Jones.
Behind the scenes with Fern:
Speaking to HELLO! last year, Fern shared the secret to her happy marriage with Phil. "We let each other do our own thing. I never question him. I am not one of those wives who is constantly sending texts all day long asking where he is, and he doesn't do that to me either. We are very gentle with each other in that sense."
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Fern, who juggles motherhood with writing novels, her TV projects and most recently her role in Calendar Girls the Musical, added: "I don't make a fuss about things. Sometimes people say, 'Oh, I am so stressed.' And I think they say that because they are thinking about being stressed. Just pull your finger out and do what needs doing, take it hour by hour and it will be alright."
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