Fern Britton - "I had a gastric band fitted"
Maybe by the time you read this article all the furore over Fern Britton's gastric band operation will have died down, but somehow, I doubt it as her continued weight loss will be a continuing reminder of her big fat lie, as revealed in the News of the World Sunday newspaper.
Fern Britton had a gastric band fitted two years ago. Her subsequent dramatic weight loss were attributed, at least by her loyal husband TV chef Phil Vickery, to exercise and not eating too much. Fern Britton herself has said that she "did not feel the need to ring around and let people know" (that she had had gastric band surgery). However, she told viewers herself of changes she had made to her diet and exercise regime - the implication being that these changes provoked the weight loss, and not the gastric band surgery. Before admitting to her deception, she said that it had taken her two years and much hard work, but she can now wear her bikini with pride.
Newspapers printed stories of Fern's weight loss, saying that she was keeping the weight off due to "a new fitness regime involving cycling and eating healthier versions of her favourite meals" (Daily Mirror).
However, Fern has now apologised on national TV for her deception. Undoubtedly, this will leave a lot of her fans somewhat disappointed, especially perhaps, her overweight fans who might have hoped that they too could achieve such a dramatic weight loss without resorting to surgery. Most of them will not be able to afford the £8,000 price tag attributed to such an operation in the private sector.
Since having the operation, Fern has lost five stone and is now a size 16 instead of a size 22. She may continue to lose more weight and become even slimmer. It is ironic that she kept her operation secret whilst promoting Ryvita, the crispbread associated as being a slimming product.
At the end of the day, I don't think that any of us would begrudge Fern her gastric band surgery. It would have been nicer, though, without the deception. She could have been honest from the start, "This Morning" could have followed her progress, and we would all have respected her a lot more for it.