Awkward moment exes Fern Britton and Phil Vickery come face to face on live TV

Fern Britton appeared on ITV's Lorraine to discuss her latest novel, A Cornish Legacy, and her veterinary television show called Inside The Vets. She did not expect the cameras to cut to her ex-hubby Phil Vickery as the show's hosts explained what was coming up on This Morning.

During the interview with host Lorraine Kelly, Fern explained that her new book was about a character who distrusted men and "didn't want anything". Fern, 67, quipped: "This is kind of write what you know, obviously." Lorraine laughed as Fern appeared to take a swipe at her love life before she explained that a "nice person" does turn up in the book.

The "nice" character is called Ray, to whom Fern asked Lorraine: "You're married to a Ray, aren't you?" However, the Scottish broadcaster said her husband is actually named Steve. The pair laughed about the blunder as Lorraine admitted she "used to fancy a man called Ray".

As the interview was drawing to a close, Lorraine had to speak to the This Morning team about what was going to happen on today's instalment of the magazine show. The cameras panned to hosts Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley.

Lorraine said: "Ben and Cat are here shortly. Hi you two. " Cat replied, "We are carrying on with our cosmetic cowboy operation."

Panning closer to Ben, he explained that Phil was hosting a cooking segment on the show about rustling up some delicious summer salads.

The camera panned to Phil, Fern's ex-husband and he was crossing his arms and smiling at the lens in silence during the awkward moment which Fern had to watch while sitting next to Lorraine in another studio.

Phil and Fern have reportedly not spoken since her for several years, specifically since the death of her beloved mother in 2018.

She said publicly that the breakdown occurred despite a period of "basic" contact after their separation in 2020.

Lorraine fans pointed out the awkward moment the former flames came face to face while watching the instalment from the comfort of their homes.

One wrote on X: "That link from Fearne to Phil (her ex) wasn't awkward at all..." Another simply wrote: "Awkward," with an embarrassed face emoji.

Lorraine airs on weekdays at 9am on ITV and ITVX.