WHAT FERN DID NEXT…. What’s in store for our cover star?

Sex, cups of tea and enjoying her new-found freedom, Fern Britton is having the time of her life. And after a traumatic year, the presenter-turned-author is looking forward to the next exciting chapter...

For almost a quarter of a century, Fern Britton has been one of the warmest and most familiar faces in showbusiness. She arrives at our cover shoot looking strong, happy and confident – you would never guess the health trauma she went through 18 months ago when she contracted sepsis after a routine hysterectomy. Fern has since admitted that she felt so ill she ‘resigned herself to death’. But, with the help of her family – TV chef husband Phil Vickery, twin sons Jack and Harry, 24, and daughters Grace, 20, and Winnie, 16 – she is back on her feet, having even managed to write her seventh novel. Fern, 60, speaks to Good Housekeeping about staying positive, enjoying the small stuff, and a rather surprising career ambition.

You are looking really well after your health scare. How did it affect your outlook on life?

I think it’s something that I’m still processing. It frightened me, and I’m just starting to revisit it. I’m getting a delayed reaction to it mentally, because I tried to distance myself from it at the time. I know that it happened because I’m still in pain from it.

What kind of pain?

My joints are constantly hurting. Knees, hips, elbows, neck, shoulders, feet. I get out of bed and walk like an old lady. This gets me down. That’s the one point of the day when I feel like I’m 100 years old. As the day wears on I start to feel a bit better, although my daughter Winnie did say to me the other day, ‘Mummy, I think where the sepsis made you ache, I’m afraid old age is now making you ache.’ Thanks darling! A while ago, as I bent down to kiss her good night in bed, she looked down my nightie and she said, ‘Mummy, your bosoms are like tyrannosaurus rex arms.’ So now she calls me ‘T-rex tits’!

How did that go down?

It was hilarious. You’ve got to laugh at yourself.

So now it’s just Winnie at home?

Yes, it is. Grace is at university. She’s a geography student, she’s beautiful and is going to study to be a personal trainer as well. She’s very sporty. The boys are both out of university and in good jobs, doing things they want to do, and they’re happy. Life is suddenly very exciting for them both. We’ve only got Winnie to get through school and university, if she wants to go. She might not; she quite likes the idea of an apprenticeship. She’s a bright sausage. Very scientific. So they’re all on their roads.

Is that something that’s rushed by?

Gosh, yes. The boys are out living life, travelling the world and driving cars, and just a minute ago they were two years old. They’re 24 now. It happened so fast. One minute they were there, and then they were gone! For them, it was really easy; for me, it was really hard. I had one night of crying, and then I thought, ‘Oh, pull yourself together, it’s not personal. They’re just doing what they should be doing.’

How do you think you’ll feel when Winnie leaves?

I don’t know. Phil and I are ready for the liberation, and Winnie certainly will be. And the idea that we can just get in the car and go away whenever we want to is lovely.

Have you already started planning what you’ll do?

Not yet. It’s another process, another thing that’s going to happen. These are big hurdles, I’m not belittling them – you’ve got to give it thought. Having a hysterectomy took a lot of thinking about, and turning 60 took a lot of thinking about. It’ll be only me and Phil, and I did talk to him about it, asking, ‘Are we going to be all right?’ He went, ‘Yeah, we’ll be fine.’

Can you say how your relationship with your children has changed over time?

It feels a lot easier now that I’ve stepped up and seen them as adults – that process of, ‘Okay, you’re grown up, I can deal with this. I can talk to you equally.’

Are you happier with the balance of writing and presenting that you now have?

It’s different. Writing was a huge challenge for me because I’d never written a novel before. It was both liberating and frightening. I’ve discovered, the older I get, that I like change and I love a challenge.

Would you say you’re more confident now?

I think it’s more having faith in yourself. Everybody in life experiences some really tough stuff and, somehow, you pull yourself through. I’ve had a lot of very tough stuff personally and professionally, and my husband, bless his heart, says to me, ‘You’re like a cockroach. People try to kill you but you never die.’ He walks past me singing, ‘I get knocked down, but I get up again…’ Isn’t that lovely? I think, ‘Well, if he has faith in me, why don’t I have faith in myself?’ And my children have faith in me, too.

Was it tough changing direction career-wise with your novels?

Nothing has ever been intentional. I’ve just gone, ‘Hmm, I’ll try that today.’

What advice would you give to other women who are thinking about turning their hand to something different?

I will say that turning 60 was a big process. But I’m just the same. I haven’t changed overnight. So keep being creative, thinking of good things, not just for yourself but for other people. Never think, ‘I’m going to make a fortune.’ It’s not that – it’s the pleasure of thinking of something and making it work. It’s hearing people go, ‘Thanks, that was great.’ Take it on board, just enjoy the pleasure. I’d like to train as a hairdresser. I’d love to be able to learn how to cut hair.