Fern Britton: 'TV left me exhausted'

Fern Britton has revealed that she felt "exhausted" and "insane" when she tried to juggle motherhood and her commitment to This Morning.

The presenter felt unable to continue with the programme following the birth of her fourth child Winnie in 2001. She had returned to work when her new arrival was 10 weeks old after allegedly receiving "desperate" phone calls from ITV bosses.

Speaking of the struggle in an interview with The Mirror, Britton explained: "I was permanently exhausted. So tired I didn't know where to put myself and it nearly drove me insane. I was barely keeping my head above water.

"I felt utterly drained. There was only one way out - I would have to give up the show. It was just one thought going round and round in my head: 'I can't do it on so little sleep'."

Britton added that she was ready to quit the show after her contract expired in 2004, but changed her mind following a confrontation with her colleague Phillip Schofield.

She admitted: "One day Phillip came into my dressing room, shut the door and just stood there, arms folded. 'You're stupid,' he said. 'You've got to do it. Apart from anything else I can't do it without you. It would be like Morecambe without Wise'."

The host eventually negotiated a new arrangement with ITV which saw her fronting the show for three days a week. This increased to four once Winnie started school.

Britton finally decided to quit This Morning to spend more time with her family earlier this year. She fronted her final episode last week.