After a controversial gastric band surgery 18 years ago, Fern Britton has put her five stone weight loss down to running.
When she entered the Celebrity Big Brother house on Monday night, the veteran TV presenter, 66, received a whole heap of praise from fans saying she looked better than ever.
In 2008 Fern shed five stone and dropped from a size 22 to a size 12 after having a gastric band.
The procedure involves putting a small band around the stomach to make it smaller – limiting the amount someone can eat.
Being transparent about the surgery, she told the Daily Mail in 2011: ‘My cholesterol was high. My knee joints were starting to hurt. I wasn’t able to run.
After a controversial gastric band surgery 18 years ago, Fern Britton has put her five stone weight loss down to running (pictured on Monday)
When she entered the Celebrity Big Brother house on Monday, the veteran TV presenter, 66, received a whole heap of praise from fans saying she looked better than ever (pictured 2022)
In 2008 Fern shed five stone and dropped from a size 22 to a size 12 after having a gastric band (pictured left before surgery in 2006 and right after surgery in 2010)
‘I was approaching 50 and I thought, ‘Do you know what? I’m going to be different when I’m 50′.’
Since the surgery, the former This Morning presenter has had multiple other health scares.
Back in 2016, Fern almost died from sepsis. The TV star admitted she ‘knew she was dying’ after being in immense pain, before undergoing an emergency operation to remove the abscesses.
And in September 2023 the TV presenter had a shoulder replacement after arthritis left her in constant pain.
But now, feeling healthier and looking fitter than ever, Fern has put her health and fitness down to running and diet.
Fern first completed the couch to 5k challenge in July 2023 – a running plan for beginners.
Posting on Instagram last month she uploaded a video after a run, saying: ‘I’ve just completed couch to 5k again.
‘I know I did it last year and I was very excited. And then after I had my shoulder done, I gave it eight weeks before I started again.
Since the surgery, the former This Morning presenter has had multiple other health scares. She almost died from sepsis back in 2016 and in September 2023 had a shoulder replacement after arthritis left her in constant pain (pictured in 2022)
But now, feeling healthier and looking fitter than ever, Fern has put her health and fitness down to running and diet
‘And I have started again. The operation was in September and I gave it till just before Christmas. And I’ve done it.
‘Now I need to know what to do next. I won’t be able to do 10k straight off. I feel amazing.’
Clearly committed to keeping fit, on Christmas Day she posted: ‘For Christmas I got some running socks. And I’ve got them on and thought I should try them out. It’s just the freedom to go out and think about things.’
In July 2023, Fern told Good Housekeeping that she has ‘entered a new phase of her life’, because she is no longer married and her children are now adults.
She split from This Morning chef Phil Vickery in January 2020 after 20 years of marriage.
Fern shares twins Harry and Jack, 29, and Grace, 26, with first husband Clive Jones and daughter Winnie, 22, with Phil.
In July 2023, Fern said she has ‘entered a new phase of her life’, because she is no longer married and her children are now adults. She split from Phil Vickery in 2020 after 20 years of marriage (pictured together in 2007)
