Former This Morning presenter Fern Britton has claimed she was told "if you don't come then there's no job for you" ahead of giving birth to her child when she was employed by ITV.
PHOTOS: Fern Britton's seaside bolthole 270 miles away from ex Phil Vickery
Fern made the shock confession on Kate Thornton's White Wine Question Time podcast. She revealed: "It was when Richard and Judy had left, I was pregnant, she [Winnie] was due in September and the show went off air as it used to for the summer and then my boss said 'well you've got to come back'."
WATCH: Fern Britton recalls the break down of her marriage to Phil Vickery
When Fern explained that she quite simply couldn't come back straight after giving birth, she was met with the comment: "If you don't come then there's no job for you."
While the presenter didn't disclose who made the remarks, she did say that they were male bosses.
© Photo: Getty ImagesFern used to work on This Morning
As it transpired, Fern was asked back on her own terms and so she took her daughter with her to work every day so that she could feed at the studio.
MORE: Fern Britton puts 13-year feud with Phillip Schofield aside with heartwarming message
READ: Fern Britton's five stone weight loss story revealed
We'd like to think that times have now changed and this type of discrimination would no longer happen to new mothers, but it's thanks to people like Fern that the issues are highlighted.
The star is mother to twin sons Harry and Jack, 26, and daughter Grace, 23, from her first marriage to Clive Jones. Winnie was welcomed with her second husband, celebrity chef Phil Vickery.
© Photo: InstagramThe star now lives in Cornwall
Fern and Phil were married in the spring of 2000 and split in 2020, much to the shock of This Morning fans.
When the couple separated, Phil stayed in the marital home in Buckinghamshire while Fern moved 270 miles away to the coast, staying at their former holiday home. Fern resides with her daughters, Grace and Winnie, and fans have been lucky enough to see inside her idyllic home thanks to television appearances and social media posts.
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