Fern Britton reveals how famous TV star used to shove his nose into her cleavage

Fern Britton has revealed how a famous TV star used to shove his nose into her cleavage after pretending to sneeze. 

The presenter, 62, said she felt ‘ashamed’ for not reporting the behaviour at the time but that people were ‘programmed to accept it’. 

The former This Morning host also recalled receiving inappropriate remarks from male colleagues. 

Mrs Britton told The Mirror: ‘A famous TV presenter would shake my hand, pretend to sneeze and put his nose into my cleavage. It was thought to be charming and hilarious.

‘I would often have my bottom touched or my breasts remarked on. All those things were supposed to be funny and we were programmed to accept it.

‘Thankfully, things are different now. As I got older, I have woken up much more to it.’ 

Mrs Britton has also worked on Breakfast Time, For What It’s Worth on the BBC and GMTV. She also hosted chat show Fern on Channel 4.

She has previously spoken about fighting off a sex attack in a lift from a man she had just interviewed. 

The former This Morning host also recalled receiving inappropriate remarks from male colleagues

Mrs Britton said the assault happened when she worked for the ITV regional franchise Television South in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

She told the Daily Express: ‘I remember doing a television show when I worked for TVS. I was in a lift with a man I’d just interviewed.

‘He suddenly jumped me and started snogging me. I asked him what on earth he thought he was doing. But it didn’t seem to shame him into stopping.’ 

Mrs Britton, who has a teenage daughter with her husband, celebrity cook Phil Vickery, criticised ‘white male privilege’ as part of the problem. 

But speaking to Good Housekeeping, she said woman are now ‘re-powering’ after the #MeToo movement.  

She has previously spoken about fighting off a sex attack in a lift from a man she had just interviewed