Since the end of her second marriage, Fern Britton's home has been a sleepy Cornish village near Padstow. But when we catch up with the TV presenter and author on a four-day trip to London, she's relishing reacquainting herself with city life.
'I went to the theatre last night to see Cabaret with Eddie Redmayne, who was stunning. Tonight I'm out with a girlfriend for dinner, then tomorrow I'm meeting four girls I go cycling with,' smiles Fern, 64, suddenly looking playful. 'If you hear someone's stripped naked down Tottenham Court Road, that'll be me!'
She's alluding to two stories divulged in the hair and make-up chair. Firstly, the time she went nude sea swimming in broad daylight ('It was a quiet little cove - then I saw some people on the cliff and thought, oh, b****r!'). Then there's her partiality to a spontaneous cocktail.
'At a social occasion, when someone says Let's have margaritas, I'm the one [who says] Oh, yeah, f*** it,' she laughs, describing a night out in 2019 on tour with Calendar Girls the Musical. 'It was 4am and I was in a bar drinking а margaritas, having a lovely time. The next day I was in a dreadful state!'
Full of opinions and refreshingly frank, Fern - who co-presented ITV's This Morning for a decade until 2009 - is enormous fun to be around. She's also brimming with excitement about what the rest of the year has in store. As well as the release of her latest novel, The Good Servant - this is her 10th (she's contracted to pen three more) - Fern has been presenting Channel 5's revival of the popular amateur painting competition Watercolour Challenge, following a Christmas TV appearance on ITV's All Star Musicals.
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Denne historien er fra May 2022-utgaven av Woman & Home.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Sporting SENSATIONS
Olympian Tessa Sanderson CBE reflects on winning gold and shines a spotlight on some of Team GB's outstanding women
The ROYAL REPORT
One of the many privileges of working alongside the royal family is to see them up close and unvarnished.
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF Dame Denise Lewis
The Olympian and BBC pundit, 51, lives in Buckinghamshire with her husband Steve. She has four children.
BRIGHT & breezy
Diana and Andy Irving set out to recreate American East Coast living at their Merseyside home, with spectacular results
Why a slim body MIGHT NOT BE A HEALTHY ONE
This month, our expert Annie Deadman reveals why eating well is essential, no matter what size your clothing labels say
My mother's GIFTS
When Genevieve Kingston's mother learnt she was dying, she found a poignant way to mark her children's milestones
IT'S GOOD to talk
The last six months have seen unprecedented candour from the Royal Family. Emily Andrews asks, is this the end for 'never complain, never explain'?
Sultry southern CHARM
Stretched along Italy's heel, Puglia offers a slice of the Italian good life, with peaceful hotels, indulgent meals and low-key glamour, says Lucy Thackray
FRUITY PUDDINGS
Easy crowd-pleasing desserts that can be made ahead of time
Are weddings OUT OF CONTROL?
You can’t put a price on love, but marriages these days can be eye-wateringly costly, as Christabel Smith discovers