Not that she isn't on a wedge or anything, it's because her This Morning/All Star Mr & Mrs co-star Phillip 'Silver Fox' Schofield earns a rake load more than she does.
Let's break it down *dances* - according to The Sun, Schofield is pulling in three times as much as Fern. Now, they earn the same for hosting This Morning (about £750k a year) but he earns £45k per episode of All Star Mr & Mrs, while she "only" gets £15k. Phil also has way more sideline projects for ITV, like hosting Dancing on Ice and he's due to present the broadcaster's new show called The Cube. All the while, poor Fern is left staring at the bottom of an empty Ryvita Minis packet. I mean, how is she meant to live on that pithy sum of money?! OK, she might feel a wee bit sore at not being offered the same amount of jobs as Phil but she did cock things up a bit for herself when she tried to dupe the viewing public into believing she'd lost all that weight through conventional means.
A source said: "Phillip is a huge name at ITV these days and is absolutely raking it in while Fern hasn't done much else. It hasn't sat well with her the way she's been treated by ITV, so many of us are not surprised she is off." Meanwhile, Fern said: "After ten years with This Morning, I have decided to leave at the end of the series. I will present my last show on July 17, my birthday, which seems appropriate... (if a little far away) Ten years is a long time on any show and I'm ready for a change. I have another Phil (Vickery) too (her husband. He's a chef and rather hot). I do want to slow down a little bit and enjoy our life together. My plan is to build a vegetable plot for the autumn and to become a This Morning viewer."
So, who might she be seeing wriggling into her arse groove? Rumoured favourites include a host of blondes, including ex-GMTV presenter Fiona Philips, current GMTV presenter Kate Garraway; Ruth Langsford (looks like Kate Garraway, fills in for Phillip and Fern when they're away alongside her husband, Eamonn Holmes. It makes for painful viewing as he tends to get snippy with her); Philip's Dancing on Ice co-presenter Holly Willoughbump; or Ulrika Jonsson. It wouldn't surprise me if Peaches Geldof was hammering down the door, either... Hang on. Myleene Klass wasn't mentioned. How bizarre.
