Fern Britton would quit Celebrity Big Brother if Phillip Schofield walked in

What did you miss?

Fern Britton has said she "might have to leave" Celebrity Big Brother if reports of her former This Morning co-star Phillip Schofield entering the house are true.

Britton and Schofield spent seven years on the This Morning sofa together before she left the show amid reports of a bitter row with her co-star, who has since cut ties with ITV after details of his affair with a younger male colleague emerged.

Schofield and Britton had both been rumoured as housemates for the reboot of Celebrity Big Brother, but so far only Britton has moved in - and she admitted she would quit if her ex co-star arrived on the show.

What, how, and why?

When Britton and Schofield were both rumoured to be amongst the housemates for Celebrity Big Brother, it looked like the series could be one of the most explosive yet.

So far, only the reports of Britton entering the ITV reality show have proved true, but in a frank chat with Kate Middleton's uncle Gary Goldsmith, she admitted in Wednesday's episode that she would walk out of the show if Schofield was a late arrival.

In the Big Brother house, Goldsmith asked Britton for her opinion on what had been going on at This Morning since Schofield left last May surrounded by controversy.

Britton said: "Genuinely, I haven't been there for 15 years, I got off the train and it's way over the horizon now so I don't know."

She continued of This Morning: "It was tricky at times. It was an institution and weirdly a programme like that, like the monarchy, it rocks but it gets back together again and I think Ben (Shephard) and Cat (Deeley) are going to do a really good job, I think it's a new era."

But Goldsmith pressed her: "I think it lost its personality with this whole range of different hosts. But it was rumoured that Phillip was going to come in here."

Looking uncomfortable, Britton said: "Oh, well. That didn't happen...yet. Maybe he's coming in as a surprise!"

Goldsmith said: "Imagine," as Britton laughed: "I might have to leave at that point."

Britton left This Morning in 2009 but it was no secret things were "tricky" between the star and Schofield at the time. The This Morning presenter has always denied she quit over pay. She previously told Hello! magazine: “That certainly wasn’t true, not least because I had no idea what Phillip had been paid. I knew what I was being paid and it was more than fair. It is appalling that, if you are doing the same job as a man, you are paid less and I am absolutely all for equal pay but at the time, even if Phillip had been paid more than me, he was doing more programmes on television.”

Britton and Schofield had an awkward reunion in 2018 when Britton appeared on the show via video link to congratulate Schofield and her successor Holly Willoughby on a Bafta recognising the show's 30 years on air, but claimed not to have had an invite to the ceremony.

What else happened on Celebrity Big Brother?

Goldsmith also felt the pressure from his housemates on Wednesday as Ekin-Su Culculoglu asked the question on everyone's lips: "Where is Kate?"

The Princess of Wales' uncle replied: "Because she doesn't want to talk about it, there's a code of etiquette. If it's announced, I'll give you my opinion. I spoke to her mum, my sister, she's getting the best care in the world and all the family's done is put the wagon down to put family first."

But he added: "She'll be back, of course she will."

Goldsmith also told Britton his opinions on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, saying of Prince William: "He's done an amazing job in that horrible situation and he's had an olive branch open all the time for his brother to come back."

Talking about Harry and Meghan, he added: "I genuinely feel that they should take the titles away."

Meanwhile, Sharon Osbourne announced that she had decided to nominate Goldsmith for the first eviction.

Celebrity Big Brother airs on ITV at 9pm.

Read more: Phillip Schofield

• Phillip Schofield 'declined' to take part in a review of his behaviour following his departure from ITV (HuffPost, 2 min read)

• Phillip Schofield 'completely erased' from The Cube attraction after ITV scandal (Evening Standard, 1 min read)

• Richard Madeley shares his take on Phillip Schofield This Morning scandal (HuffPost, 2 min read)