Celebrities

Viewers Cringe at Tense On-Air Moment as Phil Vickery Faces Ex Fern Britton Chat Live on TV

Published on July 16, 2025

It was the kind of morning telly moment that makes you want to sink into the sofa. Phil Vickery found himself in a rather squirm-worthy situation during Tuesday’s handover from Lorraine to This Morning, and it didn’t go unnoticed.

Things started off as usual, with Lorraine Kelly cheerfully chatting away — this time with Fern Britton, who was on to promote her latest book. Sounds harmless, right? Well, Fern happens to be Phil’s ex-wife. Cue the awkwardness.

Just as Lorraine was wrapping up her show, she smiled and said, “Nearly it from us, Ben and Cat are here shortly. Hi, you two!” Ever the pro, Cat Deeley responded with a breezy, “Good morning, Lorraine,” before casually mentioning, “We are carrying on with our cosmetic cowboys investigation. We are continuing with that”, reported the Wales Online.

Ben Shephard chimed in too, saying, “I know you were talking about that earlier, Lorraine,” nodding to the previous segment. All normal morning chat until the camera suddenly cut to Phil Vickery, stood stiffly in the This Morning kitchen.

He looked noticeably tense, arms crossed, giving a rather strained nod as Ben tried to keep things upbeat. “Phil is in the kitchen with some ultimate summer salads,” he offered, perhaps trying to divert attention. Cat quickly jumped in with, “We are going to be finding out how you can save on childcare costs,” but the moment had already landed.

Viewers were quick to notice the tension, flocking to social media to share their reactions. One wrote on X, “That link from Fearne to Phil (her ex) wasn’t awkward at all #ThisMorning #Lorraine,” adding that cheeky sarcasm for effect. Another didn’t mince words: “Awkward.”

And things got even more eyebrow-raising just moments before that handover, when Fern was chatting to Lorraine about her novel. She described one of her characters “gradually repowering herself” — and then delivered a line that had many wondering if it was a subtle dig at Phil. “Distrusting of men and doesn’t want anything, this is kind of right what you know, obviously,” she said with a knowing smile.

Lorraine gave a bit of a chuckle, and Fern softened the tone slightly by saying, “But a nice person does turn up. Ray.”

It’s no secret Fern and Phil’s history is long — they met on Ready Steady Cook back in the day and went on to share two decades of marriage, raising their daughter Winnie together. But they announced their split in 2020 with a joint statement that kept things respectful and amicable.

“After more than 20 happy years together, Phil and I have decided to go our separate ways. We will always share a great friendship and our lovely children,” Fern said at the time.

Still, no amount of past niceties could cover up the visible discomfort in Tuesday’s segment. For viewers, it was one of those classic live TV moments — unexpected, a bit cringey, and very hard to look away from.

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