Fern Britton took a trip down memory lane on Monday. The former This Morning star shared a personal family photo on Twitter, showing her as a child posing with her mum. The sweet snapshot shows the pair stood by the waterside, dressed in a pink patterned playsuit, white belt and daisy sandals. "Me and my mum in Looe c1970," Fern, 63, captioned the photo.
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Fern's poignant post comes two years after her beloved mum Ruth sadly passed away. At the time, the TV star paid a touching tribute, praising her mother as "brave and uncomplaining" and "both a mother and a father".
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She wrote: "My Mum. Ruth. Both mother and father to me. Funny, ferocious, and a woman once met, you couldn't forget. 24.1.24 / 17.4.18. So brave and uncomplaining. An army sergeant WW2, beauty queen, teacher, and all woman."
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Ruth split from Fern's father, actor Tony Britton, when Fern was a baby and she was left to raise Fern and her sister, Cherry Britton, alone.
Fern shared a sweet throwback photo from her childhood
Fern has often spoken of her close bond with her mother, and previously told the Guardian: "My dad wasn't around when I was a child – it was just me, my mum and my older sister, Cherry.
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"We were a theatrical family even without Dad around. Mum was very glamorous – she and my sister were extremely keen on dressing up and makeup."
The TV star was married to Phil Vickery for 20 years
Praising her mother for teaching her resilience, Fern further revealed, "My mum has always been a very strong person and as a child I absorbed her example of how you can exist on your own. How you don't need a man to validate your life. When I split up from my first husband I wasn't scared to be on my own."
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Fern's first husband was TV executive Clive Jones; they were married from 1988 until 1998 and share three children together, twins Jack and Harry and daughter Grace. She tied the knot with celebrity chef Phil Vickery in 2000 and together they have a daughter, Winnie. In January 2020, Fern and Phil announced via social media that they were separating after 20 years of marriage.
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