Shephard and Britton Reunite, Reflect on Past Mistakes

and  reunited on This Morning on Thursday, 20 years on from their last show - as he admitted to a major mistake he made on his first day.

Ben, 51, said he was delighted to stand alongside Fern, 68, who hosted the popular daytime show from 1999 to 2009 alongside . 

She occasionally co-starred along Ben, who was brought in as a guest presenter on the long-running series whenever Phillip, 64, was away. 

During Thursday's show, a series of throwback clips were shown of Fern and Ben together on screen back in the early 2000s. 

Host said: 'Ah, you two! A very fresh-faced Ben Shephard hosting his first ever This Morning.' 

And Fern added: 'Oh, blimey!' 

'We had a good time, didn't we?' Fern said, to which Ben responded: 'We had a lovely time! Are you kidding? It was fabulous. Look at you!' 

'Look at you! You look as though you're on work experience,' Fern joked back, before Ben admitted to his major faux pas that he made on his first day. 

He told viewers: 'I got the bus home. I genuinely got the bus home because I didn't know, it's lovely, but they provide a car and I didn't know who to ask, I was too embarrassed to ask anyone. 

'The number 63 bus went from Blackfriars Bridge, so I got the bus home, and I got a phone call from somebody saying, "Ben, where are you? There's a car here".

'I said, "Oh, I'm just on my way home!" I loved it - and 21 years ago when I first got the chance to sit on this sofa before I was hosting, you of course were there front and centre for all that time.'

Fern last appeared on This Morning back in 2009, when she was replaced by Holly Willoughby who joined co-host Phillip until his departure in 2023. 

Phillip quit his role in May 2023 after 21 years as host following reports of a feud with his co-host Holly.

He admitted to an affair with a younger male colleague at This Morning while he was still married. 

He and Fern famously fell out in 2009 after seven years of co-hosting, largely due to tensions over pay and feeling 'undervalued' by ITV.

Holly also stepped down in 2023, when she was replaced by a string of hosts including Ben, Cat, Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary. 

Since leaving This Morning, Fern became a successful author, publishing a number of Sunday Times best selling novels - as well as appearing in various TV projects. 

She presented BBC series Fern Britton Meets, as well as The Big Allotment Challenge, and The Watercolour Challenge, and appearing on Celebrity Big Brother in 2024. 

In 2020, Fern announced that she had 'unexpectedly' split from her husband of 20 years, fellow TV star and celebrity chef Phil Vickery. 

Speaking to Good Housekeeping in 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 explained: 'It's as if this whole other world has opened up. I never thought this would happen; I didn't expect to be 65 and single and really relaxed.'

Back in 2022, Fern's former husband Phil was spotted kissing her former best friend Lorraine Stanton - leaving Fern 'heartbroken and dumbstruck'.

A source told Daily Mail at the time that Fern was left embarrassed by the news becoming public so made a statement in order to minimise the situation and 'stop it getting out control'.

Fern has since revealed she has been making changes in her life both physically and mentally after feeling like she wasn't doing enough to look after herself.

The former This Morning host explained: 'About a year or so ago, I realised that I wasn't looking after myself – physically or mentally.

'I wasn't doing exercise, I was eating too much and suddenly, it was like I flipped a switch and I thought, "No, you've got to look after yourself'.

'So I started doing that, and it's given me a new sort of energy. I do a bit of yoga and I've started doing the Couch to 5k running app.

'I'm very slow - I've got arthritis in one of my knees and I'm about to have a shoulder replacement – but I just thought, "It's only three miles, come on!" I'm not intending to run a long marathon or beat anybody, but I do enjoy the fitness side of it.'

This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV1 and ITVX.