Fern Britton has revealed the bedroom secret that keeps her 17-year marriage steamy.

The presenter, 60, said she and Phil Vickery like having a cuppa in bed together – and that, rather than lust, is the mark of their “true relationship”.

She said: “Sex is great but a cup of tea is great too. There’s nothing nicer than getting into bed with a cuppa and having a hug and a chat – that’s love.

“Lust is great but when you really love someone and you trust each other, and you’re in bed drinking tea and chatting, that is a true relationship.”

Fern loves a cuppa with husband Phil Vickery in bed (
Image:
Daily Record)

Fern also said This Morning chef Phil, 56, has boosted her self-confidence.

Speaking to Good Housekeeping magazine, she added: “I’ve had a lot of tough stuff personally and professionally, and my husband, bless his heart, says to me, ‘You’re like a cockroach.

The couple met on Ready Steady Cook and wed in 2000 (
Image:
ITV)

“People try to kill you but you never die’. He walks past me singing, ‘I get knocked down, but I get up again…’ Isn’t that lovely?”

“I think, ‘If he has faith in me, why don’t I have faith in myself?’ And my children have faith in me, too.”

She says This Morning chef Phil, 56, has boosted her self-confidence

The couple met on Ready Steady Cook and wed in 2000. They have daughter Winifred, 16, and Phil is stepfather to her three children from a previous marriage.

Speaking of turning 60, Fern said: “I will say that turning 60 was a big process. But I’m just the same. I haven’t changed overnight.”

  • The full interview is in the March issue of Good Housekeeping, on sale January 31.