Fern Britton admits she got a 'kidney punch' from King Charles' protection officer
Former This Morning star Fern Britton has said that she received a punch to the kidney from one of the King's protection officers when she met the monarch during her teenage years.
In the early 2000s, she shot to fame after co-hosting This Morning alongside Phillip Schofield, but she has recently looked back to her younger days when she was trying to find her feet as an actor.
In a chat with Tim Lihoreau on the Guess Who's Coming To Dinner? podcast, the 68-year-old revealed how she used to write letters to the then Prince of Wales asking if he could attend any of her shows.
While she admitted that she would always receive a response, it wasn't until her 20s that she finally got the opportunity to meet the monarch while he was attending a money-raising event at Salisbury Cathedral.
But her once-in-a-lifetime moment didn't go exactly according to plan after she claimed that she received a blow to the kidney as she approached His Highness: "There was one time when I did get a sort of kidney punch from one of his (King Charles ') protection officers, because I was getting a bit too close with a microphone when he went to Salisbury, because he was raising money for the Salisbury Cathedral spire to be refixed."
And sharing more details on how the alleged incident unfolded, she explained: 'I had a beautiful suit on and I was looking good.'
She continued: 'I was in my early to mid-20s, and getting closer and closer and closer just to hear what he was saying to the crowd.'
The monarch then apparently glanced at one of his protection officers, and shortly after, she was struck. However, she admitted that she doesn't think it was meant to be 'that hard.'
Leaving her career in acting behind after leaving The Cambridge Theatre Company, she took her first steps into broadcasting in the 1980s when she took a local TV role in Plymouth.
While successfully landing a number of roles since then, it was in the 1990s that her career began to reach new heights.
In 1994, she was announced as presenter of Ready Steady Cook, but left the show shortly after becoming a full-time presenter on ITV 's This Morning, where she co-hosted until 2009.
The Palace has been approached for comment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Britain's Princess Anne celebrates her 75th birthday
LONDON, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Princess Anne, the late Queen Elizabeth's only daughter and a former Olympic equestrian, turns 75 on Friday, with little fanfare planned in keeping with the royal's disdain for making a fuss. To mark the occasion, Buckingham Palace is releasing a new photograph of the horse-loving princess, who is often credited with being the hardest-working member of the British royal family. Born in 1950, two years after her brother, now King Charles, and two years before her mother would become monarch, Anne became renowned as a young princess for her rather brusque, plain-speaking public demeanour - reminiscent of her late father Prince Philip. But she went on to gain acclaim for her horse-riding triumphs, becoming Britain's first royal Olympian when she competed at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games. More recently she has been lauded for her campaigning for domestic and international charities. A YouGov poll last week showed Anne was the third-most popular of the royals, just behind heir Prince William and his wife Kate, with 70% of those surveyed having a favourable view of her. While other members of the Windsor family have become staple tabloid fodder, Anne has eschewed the limelight although she was involved in one of the most dramatic royal events of modern times when an armed man attempted to kidnap her near Buckingham Palace in 1974. She said her calmness in dealing with the incident - she told her would-be assailant "Not bloody likely!" when he demanded that she get out of her car - was due to her experience with horses that had helped make her prepared for the unexpected. Last year, she spent five nights in hospital after suffering concussion from an incident which involved a horse, but was back at work three weeks later. "She just keeps her head down the whole time, keeps working away and leaves others to worry about column inches," her son, Peter Phillips, said in a TV interview last year.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Buckingham Palace makes embarrassing error about Princess Anne in fact list to celebrate hardworking royal's 75th bday
FALSEHOODS surrounding Princess Anne have mistakenly been issued by Buckingham Palace in celebration of the royal's 75th birthday. An article was published on the official royal website to mark King Charles's sister's special occasion on Friday. 10 It was headlined 75 facts about the Princess Royal, with a list of trivia that followed. But number 14 revealed Princess Anne had two stepchildren from her second marriage to Sir Timothy Laurence, called Tom and Amy Laurence. In reality, the Princess Royal was Sir Tim's first wife when they tied the knot in 1992 - and he did not have any kids. Meanwhile Anne has a son, Peter Phillips, and a daughter, Zara Tindall, with her first husband Mark Phillips. Mark and Anne, who were married for 19 years, divorced the same year she wed Sir Tom. The falsehood was taken down from the website shortly after royal fans were quick to point it out. It's not known exactly where the information came from, although the same error was published by Woman & Home magazine a few years ago. There's speculation whoever wrote the royal website article may have used AI, which found the info from this 2023 piece. A palace source told the Daily Mail: "The facts were checked, and that one was a late addition, sourced from a reputable publication online, which unfortunately wasn't put back through the checking process. "There was no AI sourcing on our part." Buckingham Palace has been contacted for comment. Meanwhile, other facts published in the list ranged from the royal's birth to memorable public engagements. "Her Royal Highness was born Princess Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise at Clarence House on 15 August 1950, VJ Day, at 11:50 am," read one fact. It was shared alongside a heartwarming photograph of the late Queen Elizabeth holding the royal baby. 10 10 10 10 The article went on to explain how Princess Anne was a proud member of the first Buckingham Palace Company of Brownies and Guides. It also highlighted her honourable charity work, with more than 400 organisations worldwide. And, she has made a staggering 562 overseas trips, visiting every continent. It has seen her become Colonel-in-Chief of more than 20 British and Commonwealth regiments. Royal fans may have been intrigued to learn Princess Anne was even nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize by the President of Zambia in 1990. The Princess was also the first in the Firm to appear on a TV quiz, BBC's A Question of Sport. And, the first to hold an HGV licence - seeing her get behind the wheel of a double-decker London bus and a police vehicle. She was also the first member of the British Royal Family to compete in an Olympic Games, when she entered as part of the British Equestrian team at the 1976 Montreal Games, the list revealed. Other facts included her being the Patron of the Scottish Rugby Union. Sister to the king, she set to spend her birthday next month as she always does - sailing with her husband around Scotland for just ten days. After this brief period she will return to her work as a senior member of the royal family. This comes royal fans have also theorised hard-working Anne could now prove vital in Harry and Charles' peace talks. The Princess Royal is thought to have some useful advice to offer Harry on life as a "spare" in the Royal Family. A source close to the Royal Family told The Times that Anne could offer some words of wisdom to her nephew. The source said: "She often talked about how, as children, she was treated so differently from Charles. "She was second to him and kicked further down the line of succession as a woman, but she forged her own path. "In her twenties she was bolshy and upset about a lot of things, but she came through that. "He should talk to her about her experiences. She is shrewd. She could tell him a lot about what she went through.' Anne reportedly doesn't plan to retire until her tenth decade, following in Prince Phillip's footsteps. A dutiful and hard working member of the Royal Family, Anne overcame an injury just last year and returned to her duties just a few weeks later. The Princess Royal was admitted to intensive care last June with head injuries and a concussion after reportedly being kicked in the head by a horse at her Gatacombe Park estate in Gloucestershire. She was taken to Southmead Hospital in Bristol for tests and treatment before returning to her duties that July. Anne has been almost unstoppable for more than seven decades now, working nearly without pause. She is reportedly notorious among her aides for resisting attempts to create downtime for her. Shying away from attempts to celebrate her 75th birthday, Anne instead opted to celebrate more than 100 of the 400 charities she is a patron of. The Princess Royal hosted more than 100 of her charities at a Buckingham Palace reception last month as part of her birthday celebrations. Aside from the reception, Anne has accepted the issuing of a silver coin to commemorate the momentous occasion. Released last week the coin features the Princess Royal's face and the words "The Princess Royal. Celebrating 75 years. Duty and devotion.' Peter Phillips has announced his engagement to girlfriend Harriet Sperling. Peter, 47, will marry Harriet, 45, after dating the NHS paediatric nurse for the past year. the King and Queen today of their engagement. 10 10 10
Metro
2 hours ago
- Metro
Emmerdale confirms major Charity and Ross twist as the baby might not be Sarah's
Last week, ITV soap Emmerdale delivered a massive storyline twist. In tonight's episode, they did the exact same thing again. The plot development last Thursday saw Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) kiss her ex Vanessa Woodfield (Michelle Hardwick). Prior to this, Charity decided to get drunk in the pub following a massive row with Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb). She then ended up back at Vanessa's, who wanted to help Charity sober up. Charity kissed Vanessa, but we didn't see what happened next. In the episode last Friday and then the ones that have aired this week so far, it was just sort of suggested that their kiss should be left in the past and was considered a mistake. In tonight's episode, Charity headed to the hospital with Sarah Sugden (Katie Hill), Mack and Jacob Gallagher (Joe-Warren Plant). They went for another scan, with Charity under the impression her first embryo transfer hadn't worked. In the room, the doctor confirmed that Charity is pregnant. The group were completely thrilled. It was definitely a bit of a shock, considering the fall and Charity's bleeding, but the doctor smiled – there was a heartbeat. The family returned home and set about organising a little celebratory afternoon in the pub. Once the likes of Moira Dingle (Natalie J Robb) and Eric Pollard (Chris Chittell) arrived, the news was revealed, and they were all elated. It was at this point that things started to change, as Ross Barton (Michael Parr) wandered in. He caught up on the development and spoke to Charity outside. She was on edge, and the flashback scene quickly allowed us to understand why. After kissing Vanessa, Charity was thrown out of her house. She stumbled through the street and then came across Ross, who was miserable following the departure of Steph Miligan (Georgia Jay). The two characters kissed, and then had sex. Is Ross the father of Charity's baby? Back in present day, with knowledge that Charity is now pregnant, Ross couldn't help but wonder if the baby is his. Charity denied this, telling Ross their sex was meaningless and the baby belongs to Sarah and Jacob – but this is all just words. Until a DNA test is conducted, neither of them will really know the truth. For Ross, star Michael Parr told us that his character absolutely doesn't believe what Charity is saying about the pregnancy: 'I think he's desperate to find out the answer because it comes with such responsibility, having another child, it's a lot of pressure on him because he's not doing so well with work right now and his living situation isn't ideal as he's always swapping and changing. 'Plus he's just met his brother Lewis. There's a lot going on for him in his head, so he just needs to get to the bottom of this. So he can get a good night's sleep.' So, what will the outcome be? Is Charity pregnant with Ross' baby? And if so, could she lie to Jacob and Sarah for nine months and allow them to believe they're about to become parents? Things were already pretty complicated but now, after this, everything has suddenly got incredibly messy. Let's not forget that if Ross is the father of the baby, it will create even more problems for Charity and Mackenzie, who has always wanted more children. 'There are so many emotions going on which again, you know puts more of a spotlight onto Charity's awful secret and dilemma', Emma Atkins said. 'The situation was awful to begin with as it began with poor Sarah's position. It's so sad for Sarah as her situation is awful. She so wanted a child but can't physically have one. And in real life there are poor girls in that situation with cervical cancer or who have had to have a hysterectomy. More Trending 'So Charity had good intentions initially to help Sarah in her plight to have a child but now it's clashing with the awful situation she's in. The fact Mack is now so upset as he and Charity lost a baby and it was Mack's dream was to have a child with Charity but Charity told him way back when that it wasn't going to happen. Want to be the first to hear shocking EastEnders spoilers? Who's leaving Coronation Street? The latest gossip from Emmerdale? Join 10,000 soaps fans on Metro's WhatsApp Soaps community and get access to spoiler galleries, must-watch videos, and exclusive interviews. Simply click on this link, select 'Join Chat' and you're in! Don't forget to turn on notifications so you can see when we've just dropped the latest spoilers! She added: 'She wasn't going to go down that route again. But now she has but for someone else. He's rightfully hurt by this although wanting to support her.' 'There are just so many layers to this story. So Charity had thought she had closed the door on having another child and that prospect killed Mackenzie in many ways – she was aware of that so Charity now holds all that guilt. Of how he is feeling. View More » 'And now this new situation so this all comes back up to haunt her and it's just a sort of whirlpool of awfulness. And what will she do?.' MORE: All Emmerdale spoilers for next week as much-loved couple 'reunite' MORE: Emmerdale star Bradley Riches responds to cruel trolling of Lewis MORE: The end 'sealed' for Charity and Mack in Emmerdale as huge row explodes over devastating loss
