Fern Britton, who lost her father in 2019, has admitted she feels “inadequate” after asking her fans for help with a new project.
The presenter’s father was, of course, famous actor Tony Britton. He died at the age of 95, with Fern calling her dad a “charmer” in a touching tribute on social media.
Now she’s asked fans for help in researching a new book she’s working on, and asked her followers to get in touch if they grew up without a father.
What happened with Fern Britton and her father?
Fern’s father was a successful actor in the 1950s, and his job involved working away from home a lot.
What Fern didn’t know was Tony had actually left Fern’s mum after 10 years of marriage, with the TV presenter being conceived during one of his visits home to see his ex and Fern’s elder sister Cherry.
As a result, she previously revealed she was told a lot of “convoluted stories about why he wasn’t here”.
And it wasn’t till her “late teens” that she got to know him “better”.
However, speaking on Channel 5’s No Place Like Home recently, Fern admitted: “By then it was too late, he wasn’t a father, he was a man I knew and then I got to know him as a person.”
She did add, though: “We had such a laugh.”
But it’s clear the family set up affected Fern.
‘I know how the loss affected me’
Speaking on White Wine Question Time she has previously admitted: “My mother was, as you can imagine, everything. She was mother and father to me.”
The loss kicked in around 40 when I had my family.
And now it seems Fern is planning on addressing the subject of her absent father in a new book.
Taking to Twitter last night (February 1), she posted: “Research into new book requires stories and emotions of women who grew up without a father?
“I know how it affected me. The loss kicked in around 40 when I had my family. I’d love other perspectives?” she wrote.
‘Feeling inadequate’
A few hours later she took to Twitter again with a heartbreaking post about feeling “inadequate” after reading stories from her followers.
However, Fern did vow to do them justice.
“I want to thank you all so much for sharing these memories. Thank you.
“Please know I will honour these insights whilst feeling inadequate at not being able to properly talk to you. This is obviously a huge topic and one that needs sharing on another level,” she concluded.
Read more: Fern Britton shares cryptic post about being ‘battered’ by life
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