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Little Britton finally tells the truth: 'I DID have weight-loss surgery
Last updated at 21:53pm on 01.06.08
She claimed her new slimline figure was down to healthy eating and sheer hard work.
But yesterday Fern Britton was forced to admit her svelte look is the result of drastic surgery.
The 50-year-old This Morning presenter, who has dropped from a size 22 to a size 16 after losing around 5st, said she opted for gastric banding two years ago to restrict the amount of food she ate.
Little Britton: Fern before and after surgery and her new healthy lifestyle
She finally owned up to having the operation after months of speculation concerning her dramatic weight loss.
The mother-of-four, who is married to celebrity chef Phil Vickery, had previously attributed her figure to cycling, walking the family dog and eating less.
Her representative told the Daily Mail at the time: 'Fern is happy to say that her weight loss is a consequence of healthy diet and exercise.'
Fuller figure: Fern felt she was a bad role model when she was a larger lady
But in a statement yesterday, Miss Britton admitted: 'As I know, many people are interested in my weight loss over the past two years.
'As interest is so high I'm making public, as a personal choice, that I had a gastric band operation two years ago.
'I did this purely for myself and I would not wish to influence others to do the same. But for me it has worked and I am very pleased with the results.'
For the past two years, Miss Britton, who earns £700,000 a year, has told viewers of the changes she made to her diet and exercise regime.
In particular, she spoke of her love for cycling, which developed after taking part in a charity bike ride.
'I've always said I'm not a fan of dieting so I just ate a bit healthier and took up cycling to work,' she claimed.
'I've heard a rumour that another celeb has been saying I've had liposuction.
'That's hilarious! It's taken me two years and a lot of hard work but I can wear my bikini with pride.'
In 2005, Miss Britton laughed off jibes about her size after unflattering photographs appeared of her on
a beach in Cornwall.
But she insisted she was not miserable about her weight, saying: 'You can tell there are people watching me and thinking, "Oh, the poor tubby woman must go home and sob her heart out over her size". But it's just not true.'
Miss Britton is not the only daytime TV host to admit to having the surgery, which costs around £7,000 privately.
Anne Diamond and Alison Hammond - This Morning's celebrity interviewer - have also had the operation.
The surgery involves placing a band around the top of the stomach, which restricts the amount of food a person can eat. On average, most patients will lose half their excess weight within two years.
Reader views (10)
leave her alone
Fern rules!
She should not be judged or criticised for doing something she wanted to do, I admire her for trying to keep it to herself as it is only her business. Stop your bitterness ladies
This Morning would not be the same without her or Phil.
- Sally, london
Will Ryvita's advertisements now include on the pack (in a VERY small font) 'to be used in conjunction with a gastric band', as opposed to 'a calorie-controlled diet'?
Shame on Ryvita for maintaining their connection with Fern Britton, while she and her husband deceived and misled many overweight people who believed they might actually do it 'the right way', by eating less and exercising. Fern Britton's smug deception that she had achieved the weight loss by sensible means without resorting to gimmicks or fad diets really sticks in my craw (pun intended).
- Stephanie, West Sussex
"'I've always said I'm not a fan of dieting so I just ate a bit healthier and took up cycling to work,' she claimed.
'That's hilarious! It's taken me two years and a lot of hard work but I can wear my bikini with pride.' "
It does not sound like the press "forcing" her to make a statement, but at the end of they day she implied that this dramatic weight loss was down to cycling and healthy eating.
These days the term "healthy eating" seems to be code word for "massive amounts of expensive surgery" ...
Anyway good luck to Fern I don't begrudge her! But I'd prefer if she and other celebs would be a bit more honest.
And by the way Wendy did you not know by now that today's definition of "celeb" is "someone who knowingly and actively divests themselves of any right to a private life in exchange for large sums of money and public adoration..." or something like that. a devil's bargain? - maybe!
- Cane, London
I take on all the above comments but surely Fern Britton is "lying by ommision" and it kinds of make a nonsense of her claim that her weight loss is down to Ryvita minis, eating healthily and cycling a lot.
- Annie, london, uk
Seeing as she didn't make a business out of her weightloss - exercise videos, diet books etc - this was purely a private matter. I don't know about you but I'm fed up about 'celebrities' spilling their guts on private issues purely to stay in the limelight for longer than their 15 minutes.
- Anna, Leeds
Blimey Doreen and Monica, what an overreaction!
The fact is that non of this is actually anyone else's business from what I can see. If the press force her to make a statement then she is fully entitled to protect her privacy. Had she been frank she probably would have been pilloried for taking the easy way out, so its a case of damned if you do, damned if you don't. People lie about having plastic surgery all the time, what is the difference?
Don't happen to be over weight yourselves by any chance, do you girls?
- Wendy K, London
Perhaps people should just leave her alone and stop being nosy as to why she is one size or another.
- Nu, London
I think Fern is brilliant I have always been a fan of hers. She still had to make a commitment to a new way of life, gastric banding is a long term aid not a short quick fix to weight loss. I am having the procedure in Brussels in 2 weeks time and if I was a little hesitant before reading the article on Fern in yesterdays "News of the World", I am so ready for this now and see Fern as an inspiring role model, and like her, I'm doing this for me and my well being. Go Fern!
- Helen, Wicklow Ireland
Oh dear Fern - you are just as deceitful as them all - I thought you were different.
- Doreen, Anon
So do we really want to see someone who tells blatant lies on our TV's every weekday morning. The giggling is so insincere and now this. Will anyone ever believe a word she says now. Her husband is just as bad and the two of them should be taken out of the limelight and let honest people take over.
- Monica, UK
