Phil Vickery speaks out after 'kissing' ex-wife Fern Britton's friend

18 October 2022, 10:30

This Morning chef Phil Vickery has broken his silence after pictures circulated of him sharing a kiss with the friend of ex-wife Fern Britton.

Phil Vickery has opened up about being pictured with his ex-wife Fern Britton's best friend.

The This Morning chef was spotted kissing Lorraine Stanton, 58, last month, but has now insisted the pair 'are just mates.'

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Phil, 61, told the Daily Mail: “I could not possibly comment on that because she's just a friend.

"We're just mates having lunch for goodness sake.”

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When pictures emerged of Phil and Lorraine, reports suggested Fern was ‘dumbstruck’, but these rumours were put to bed when the TV star Tweeted: "Good morning all. Just to clear up any concerns [...] It is not true."

Lorraine has reportedly known Fern for decades and they were part of the same cycling group, often posing together for photos.

Phil and Fern were married for 20 years before they announced their split in January 2020.

In a statement at the time, Fern wrote: "After more than 20 happy years together, [we] have decided to go our separate ways. We will always share a great friendship and our lovely children.

"We would appreciate it if our privacy is respected at this time. Thank you for your continued kindness and support."

After the break up, Fern moved out of their family home in Buckinghamshire and is now living in Cornwall.

Despite initiating their split, Fern - who shares Winnie, 20, with Phil and is also mum to Grace, 25, and twins Jack and Harry, 28, with ex Clive Jones - recently opened up about her split.

She told Prima Magazine: "This new chapter has come at the right time for me. I don’t want to be the poster girl for separation, though, because a lot of people go through the same thing.

"Often, the children leave home and you look at each other and go, ‘Ah, where do we go from here?’ I only wish I was the sort of person who could have persevered through that, but I couldn’t".