Three people in Britain have been infected with a dog disease which is now spreading between canines in the UK for the first time. 

Brucella canis, a bacterial infection, is an incurable disease in canines can lead to infertility, lameness and pain in dogs.

But the UK Health Security agency has now confirmed that three Brits have also caught the disease from infected animals, the first such cases ever found in the UK. 

And in another first Government experts today revealed they have now spotted the disease spreading among animals in the UK, albeit at low levels.

Cases found previously had been isolated incidents among animals imported from areas like Eastern Europe, where the disease is endemic. 

Three of the human cases of Brucella canis have now been spotted in the UK since 2022 health chiefs said. 

Cases among dogs in the UK have also skyrocketed, with a record 91 already spotted this year.

Dr Christine Middlemiss, chief veterinary officer at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), told The Telegraph: ‘We have had spread of a case in the UK to another dog in the UK. It is through breeding in kennels.  

‘There is not a lot – there is very little. But that is new for us.’

These UK-native cases of Brucella canis came from British dogs that had either had contact with an imported dog or were the offspring of an imported dog.

This means the disease isn’t considered endemic in the UK and is still officially classified as low risk.

Human Animal Infections and Risk Surveillance (HAIRS), a cross-Government group, today published a report on the risk Brucella canis poses.

HAIRS found that there is a ‘very low’ risk of someone in the population becoming infected.

However, dog breeders, people who work at vets or kennels and owners of infected dogs, are slightly more at risk of being exposed — but this is still classed as ‘low’, the HAIRS report states.

The group also found while the health risks of a Brucella canis infection were generally low, severe cases with life threatening complications had been reported and immunocompromised individuals could be at greater risk. 

In total three cases in people in the UK have been confirmed, with the HAIRS report detailing two.

The first was detected after attending hospital for their symptoms, while the second was found in an asymptomatic person working at a vets who was routinely tested after contact with an infected dog. 

HAIRS recommended that dog breeders and charities importing dogs from overseas should carry out pre-export testing for the disease.

They also advised that vets treating dogs imported from overseas use appropriate PPE to help minimise the risk of a potential infection.

Dr Middlemiss said the Government was currently considering introducing a mandatory testing requirement for dogs imported from Brucella canis hotspots. 

‘We are gathering the evidence, various risk assessments are contributing to that evidence and we will consider it,’ she said. 

While Brucella canis infection is not a death sentence for animals, it is considered a life-long disease, with no cure.

This is because the bacteria behind the disease can remain dormant in the dog even after treatment, meaning they remain potentially infectious.  

Therefore, the only way to guarantee onward transmission of the disease is euthanasia.

HAIRS said the decision on euthanasia is a matter for the owner of the animal and their vet and a willingness to accept the risks posed by continual exposure to the animal.

Brucella canis infections among dogs in the UK has been on the rise.

There were just 9 cases in 2020, but this rose to 36 the following year and increased to 55 in 2022.

As of July this year 91 cases have been identified in the UK, according to HAIRS.

Clinical information was available for 22 of the cases, with 19 dogs having no symptoms, one having inflammation of the spine and other two having back pain.

All but one of these dogs had been imported into the UK, with most coming from Romania (14). 

The remaining case came from a puppy at an unlicensed breeding premises in Wales, where 21 dogs were also subsequently found to have the infection. 

All other cases found so far this year were in imported dogs. 

HAIRS said a rise in awareness of the disease among British vets, and therefore testing for it, is likely behind the increase in cases. 

Tests have also increased with 5,773 carried out between January and July this year, compared to just 1,332 in 2018. 

Romania is one of the biggest sources of imported dogs into the UK, with over 70,000 animals imported to Britain in 2020 and 2021.

Only 10,000 animals were imported from last year Romania due to concerns of rise in diseases resulting from the conflict in neighbouring Ukraine. 

Signs of Brucella canis in dogs include infertility, swollen testes in male dogs, lethargy, premature aging and lameness from back pain.

However, some dogs may show no obvious signs of infection.

In people, Brucella canis generally produces mild and general flu-like symptoms that can make it difficult to diagnose.

The disease can also strike years after initial infection and may occasionally come back recurrently over several years.

There have also been reports of dangerous complications resulting from a Brucella canis infection in people.

These include serious infections of the heart, bone, brain tissue and blood. However, no fatal case of Brucella canis in people has been recorded. 

Transmission of the disease between people is theoretically possible through routes like blood transfusion but there are no known cases of this occurring in medical literature. 

Dr Middlemiss told MailOnline that: ‘We continue to work closely with our colleagues at UKHSA, dog welfare groups and vets to minimise the risks posed and recommend prospective owners make sure any dog imported from regions where Brucella canis is present is tested before arrival.’

Wendi Shepherd, head of emerging Infections and zoonoses at UKHSA, added: ‘We have seen a small number of cases of Brucella canis in people in the UK this year.

‘However, the risk to the general public in the UK is very low and the risk to people who have had close contact with an infected dog is low. 

‘From the small number of cases of the infection that have been reported in humans worldwide, the infection is usually mild, but people who have weakened immune systems, are pregnant, or are young children may be more likely to experience more serious infection.’

Chris Hemsworth flashes his wedding band as he and his mother Leonie van Os catch a taxi from Sydney Airport after arriving from Los Angeles

By Kinta Walsh-cotton For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 02:40 EDT, 16 September 2023 | Updated: 02:41 EDT, 16 September 2023

Does your personality change once you reach the airport?

More than half of Britons say they adopt a new identity when they catch a flight, according to a survey by British Airways, which pinpoints five different ‘airport personas’. 

The most common is the Airport Ace, who is ‘fully prepped’ and ‘more likely to take charge of the check-in process’. The rarest airport personality is the Airport Ambler, who doesn’t tend to rush and will likely be the last person to board the plane.

Read on for more on these and the other three personas, as revealed in the BA research… 

AIRPORT ACE

This airport persona is ‘fully prepped and the designated leader when travelling with a group’, the study says.

It continues: ‘They are the most organised and do all the prep for their travel party, probably seen carrying their own perfectly pre-packed liquid bags with spares for the rest of their group.

‘The Airport Ace can’t be missed as they are at the front of the pack, carrying all the group passports and can often be overhead assertively giving directions.’

Almost half (49 per cent) of those surveyed for the study said they consider themselves an ‘Airport Ace’, the most common persona.

In addition, results show that travellers from the East Midlands (59 per cent) are more likely to take charge and adopt this persona.

AIRPORT AUTOPILOT

More than two in five Britons (43 per cent) say they go with the flow ‘on Airport Autopilot’ and are ‘happy to take a back seat and let someone else take charge at the airport’, the research shows.

Those most happy to be led are from the East of England, according to the research, which says these travellers ‘tend to trail at the back, always following directions and don’t often break away’.

It adds: ‘More often than not, they don’t even know where their gate is, as they leave it down to the Airport Ace.’

AIRPORT ATHLETE

Always ‘eyeing up queues’, the Airport Athlete is said to treat the airport ‘like a competitive sport’.

Making up 15 per cent of holidaymakers, this persona strives to be ‘among the first to get on and off the plane and the first to get their baggage after landing’, the study says.

It adds: ‘Airport Athletes can often be spotted darting through the crowds and are constantly on the move, always eyeing up queues trying to work out how to get ahead and spend as little time as possible dwelling in the airport.’

The Airport Athlete persona resonates most with Northern Irish holidaymakers (22 per cent), the findings reveal. 

AIRPORT ADVENTURER

Happy to ‘break away from the pack and spend a lot of time exploring the airport’, you will likely find the Airport Adventurer exploring Duty Free, sampling the restaurants or simply wandering the halls of the airport terminal.

This persona makes up just 8 per cent of travellers, according to the study which says they are ‘most likely to come back with a new gadget from their airport exploration that they didn’t know they needed’.

Describing them as ‘lone wolves’, the study says that Airport Adventurers are ‘not often seen in a group so that they can make the most of the airport without distractions from their travel companions’.

AIRPORT AMBLER 

The least common airport persona of all is the Airport Ambler, accounting for just 4 per cent of travellers.

Those of the ambler persuasion have the most relaxed approach to travel, ‘taking their time to make it to the aircraft and often being among the last people to get onto the plane’, the study says.

It adds: ‘The amblers don’t tend to rush. They are the ones who will stop off for the all-important holiday photo in front of the plane, sometimes holding up the rest of their party.’

Scots are the biggest Airport Amblers, with one in ten saying this persona resonated with them in the study.

BA customer service agent Pauline Price said: ‘Having worked at British Airways for nearly 18 years, I have seen every type of traveller head through the airport, from the ace who takes responsibility and knows where they are headed, to the Airport Autopilot who goes with the flow.

‘We are always on hand to help, but to make it easier for customers, our expert travel teams at British Airways have pulled together a list of everything travellers need to prepare for their trip that can be found on our website and in our new pre-travel email.’

For more visit www.britishairways.com/en-gb/information/before-you-fly. 

Jenny McCarthy rocks a stylish black maxi dress as she grabs dinner at Catch Steak in West Hollywood

By Brianna Oard For Dailymail.Com

Published: 02:26 EDT, 6 August 2023 | Updated: 02:27 EDT, 6 August 2023

Would you have the stomach to reel in your own fish dinner from a tank?

There are quirky restaurants in Japan that give you a chance to find out the answer – they store fish in huge tanks, with guests given fishing rods and nets so that they can catch one for the chef to cook for them.

Several TikT­­­­­okers have captured footage of the highly novel eateries – with many commenters left feeling queasy about the concept.

One viral video by Australian travel blogger Tina Pik documented her trip to the Osaka branch of Fishing Restaurant Zauo, a restaurant chain that’s been inviting dinners to catch their own supper since the 1980s. In it, she shows how staff bang a drum when diners successfully catch a fish and how chefs transform the catch into ‘a yummy sashimi or deep fried or steamed fish’ dish.

The video snapped up more than 17million views, but reactions were mixed, with user ‘Nawiti Nkhoma123’ writing: ‘I can’t eat something I’ve met face to face… that just changed everything.’ TikToker ‘Clayton’ added that it ‘just feels wrong’. 

Another user, ‘Porseleinen_Ponnie’, said: ‘Try to imagine this from the point of view of the fish.’ And ‘niknak8519’ remarked: ‘My problem is I’d feel sorry for the fish I caught, put it back and go home hungry.’

Others, however, were more enamoured by the prospect. User ‘Alex’ said: ‘I love food and I love fishing, so I need to go here!’ And user ‘Nor’ said: ‘I’m going to add this to my tour plan.’ 

San Diego-based bloggers Brandon and Mary, who run the YouTube channel ‘Ferrers In Flight’, shared a video from the same restaurant on a holiday in Osaka, explaining how lobster, prawns, clams and flounder are among the seafood that can be plucked from the tanks. 

The costs vary depending on the type of fish you’ve caught. A red snapper, for instance, is around £17.50 (3,245 Japanese yen/$23). If diners struggle to catch anything, staff can step in and reel in a catch for them. 

Speaking to MailOnline Travel about the experience, Brandon and Mary explain how the staff ‘provide some bait you can put on the hook’ when you start fishing. They continue: ‘Once you drop the hook in front of [the fish], they are quick to bite!’ 

The couple, who visited the eatery with their young daughter, managed to catch one fish, which they shared between the three of them. They say: ‘We picked for half of our fish to be fried, and half grilled. They have a variety of ways to have it prepared, and you really can’t go wrong with any combination.’

Their footage captures the dining experience, with seats built inside the wooden boats at the centre of the restaurant. 

Overall, they said it was a ‘great experience’, adding: ‘It was fun to see tourists and locals alike enjoying a nice meal that we happened to have caught ourselves!’

Another TikToker, Nicholas Teo, shared a video that showed him catching his supper in a Tokyo branch of the popular Zauo restaurant chain.

In it, he reveals that ‘you can actually come here and eat without fishing, but if you fish they give you a discount.’ 

He adds that the chefs can use the ‘fish head and bones to make miso soup for you’.

Another restaurant, Jumbo-tsuribune Tsurikichi, which is located in Osaka’s Shinsekai neighbourhood, offers the same experience, as documented in a video by TikTok user Parisa.

She admits that she was ‘a little sceptical’ about fishing for her dinner at first, but thought she would give it a try anyway. 

And she was pleasantly surprised. The travel TikToker describes the fishing restaurant as unlike any place she’s ever been to, saying: ‘We ended up going for the lobster steamed in garlic and butter and prawns tempura style… this was some of the best seafood I’ve ever had. The freshness is unmatched and I would highly recommend this place if you’re looking for a unique dinner experience.’

She added: ‘Although I’m not a fishing expert, I will admit that the experience was a fun blend of challenge and enjoyment. While I found handling the fishing rods a bit tricky it didn’t take away from the experience. 

‘Fortunately, the restaurant provided nets for those of us who struggled, and I ended up using one myself. Curiously, it seemed like the fish had a hunch they were on the menu and purposely avoided the rods, creating a game of cat and mouse in the underwater world.’ 

This phenomenon briefly made its way overseas – Zauo opened a New York restaurant in 2018, but it shut down after less than two years in business.

A FULL MOON  is the phase of the moon in which its whole disc is illuminated.

During the 29.5-day lunar cycle, we observe a new moon (with 0 per cent illumination), a waxing moon (when the amount of illumination on the moon is increasing), a full moon (100 per cent illumination) and then a waning moon (when its visible surface area is getting smaller).

Because our modern calendar isn’t quite in line with the Moon’s phases, sometimes we get more than one full Moon in a month. This is commonly known as a blue moon. 

Meanwhile, a SUPERMOON  is when the full moon nearly coincides with perigee – the point in the orbit of the moon at which it is nearest to the Earth.

This means a supermoon can appear as much as 14 per cent larger and 30 per cent brighter than when it’s furthest away from Earth. 

There are about three or four supermoons per year, most astronomy websites claim, and they happen at different times each year. 

In a nutshell, a supermoon is a full moon. But it’s bigger and brighter than a normal full moon. 

Lastly, STURGEON MOON simply refers to the time of the year the full moon is appearing.

Full moon in August is called Sturgeon Moon because of the large number of sturgeon fish that were found in the Great Lakes in North America this time of the year. 

Other months of the year correspond to different nicknames – so January is Wolf Moon, February is Snow Moon, March is Worm Moon, April is Pink Moon, May is Flower Moon, June is Strawberry Moon and so on.  

Full moon names were historically used to track the seasons and therefore are closely related to nature. 

The full list of full moon nicknames: 

January: Wolf Moon because wolves were heard more often at this time.

February: Snow Moon to coincide with heavy snow.

March: Worm Moon as the Sun increasingly warmed the soil and earthworms became active.

April: Pink Moon as it heralded the appearance of Phlox subulata or moss pink – one of spring’s first flowers.

May: Flower Moon because of the abundance of blossoms.

June: Strawberry Moon because it appeared when the strawberry harvest first took place.

July: Buck Moon as it arrived when a male deer’s antlers were in full growth mode.

August: Sturgeon Moon after the large fish that was easily caught at this time.

September: Corn Moon because this was the time to harvest corn.

October: Hunter’s Moon after the time to hunt in preparation for winter.

November: Beaver Moon because it was the time to set up beaver traps.

December: Cold Moon because nights at this time of year were the longest.

Source: Old Farmer’s Almanac  

Not many of us would volunteer to be infected with a potentially lethal new virus in the name of science.

But early in the pandemic, in a first-of-its-kind trial for Covid, that’s exactly what 36 healthy — and brave — young people did, offering to be infected with coronavirus so scientists could learn as much as possible about this deadly new foe.

I have taken part in some unpleasant and sometimes painful experiments myself, such as deliberately swallowing tapeworm eggs so that scientists at Liverpool University could study the impact of the worm on my immune system.

However, apart from the initial repugnance when swallowing the eggs, I barely noticed they were there until I saw pictures from a pill camera I swallowed months later.

In another experiment I was injected with psilocybin (the active ingredient in ‘magic mushrooms’, being tested as a treatment for severe depression) while in a brain scanner. The effect was stranger — it was like that moment in Star Trek when the spaceship goes into hyper-drive; the walls of the scanner dissolved and I took off to the stars.

But even so, I’m not sure I would have agreed to being infected with Covid-19, particularly early on when we knew so little about it — though I’m glad others were prepared to do so. That trial was carried out at the Royal Free Hospital in London in February 2021, and the latest results have just been published in The Lancet Microbe.

It was a type of trial called a ‘human challenge study’ — and deliberately infecting healthy volunteers can be a really good way to study exactly how novel viruses spread and how they can be treated.

But this approach is also controversial, as you are asking healthy people to expose themselves to the risk of serious disease, even death. As you are deliberately infecting people, this type of study is very different from a conventional vaccine trial where you inoculate a large group of people and wait to see who gets infected and if the vaccine’s benefits outweigh any side-effects.

This particular experiment was done under carefully controlled conditions and the volunteers were well informed about any risks.

In the old days, things were rather different. One of my medical heroes, Dr Edward Jenner, was the first to demonstrate that you can protect people against smallpox (a deforming and often fatal disease) by infecting them with cowpox, a fairly harmless disease that milkmaids often caught.

This was the first example of a successful vaccine and the impact of what Jenner did was incredible. But the way he went about proving his theory is, with the wisdom of hindsight, hard to justify. Jenner began by rubbing pus from the cowpox blisters of a milkmaid into cuts he’d made in the arms of James Phipps, aged eight.

James, the son of his gardener, got a mild fever but nothing worse. Two months later, in May 1796, Jenner again cut James’s arm, but this time rubbed in pus from a patient with smallpox.

It is unlikely that James or his family were aware of the risks —that James could get smallpox and die a hideous death, and also give it to the rest of his family. Fortunately, the earlier cowpox inoculation did indeed protect James from smallpox. Hugely encouraged by this result, Jenner did the same thing to 23 other people, including his infant son, Robert. At the time, Jenner was ridiculed and savagely attacked by sceptics, the earliest in a long line of anti-vaxxers. But his approach produced such good results that it was soon being widely used, going on to save the lives of millions worldwide.

The recent results of the Covid challenge trial were nothing like as dramatic as Jenner’s experiment, but what they discovered will prove extremely useful should there be another outbreak.

For starters, while all the volunteers were exposed to the same dose of Covid (in the form of live viruses squirted up their nose), only half ended up getting infected — suggesting the rest must have had some form of prior immunity.

And although none of the infected volunteers became particularly ill, two became so-called super-spreaders, coughing or sneezing out vastly more virus particles than anyone else in the group. This confirms what many scientists had suspected — that a small number of super-spreaders were responsible for most cases of Covid.

The experiment also proved that, soon after people are infected, the virus is found mainly in their noses — showing how vital it was to cover the nose when masking up. 

Because they were taking daily swabs from volunteers’ noses and mouths, plus blood samples, they were able to show that lateral flow tests, taken soon after developing symptoms such as a cough, are a reliable way of detecting when people become infectious.

They also showed that soon after becoming infectious, people start spraying Covid particles into the air and onto surfaces such as table tops and door handles.

This matters because although there has been scepticism about whether you can pick up Covid by touching surfaces, a new study by Imperial College London showed, for the first time, that this is an important way of getting infected.

Which in turn suggests that basic hygiene really is a powerful way to control the spread of a new airborne virus such as Covid.

The UK Covid-19 inquiry, which has just begun, will look into the Government’s handling of the pandemic, plus the effectiveness of lockdowns and preventative steps such as wearing a mask.

The inquiry will last for at least two years — but in the meantime, thanks to studies like this, we know far more about how coronaviruses spread, who is vulnerable and how best to protect ourselves if another pandemic occurs.

And it also shows that despite our advanced technology, there are still times when we need human volunteers to answer fundamental questions.

I suspect my biggish nose and tendency to run to fat come from my father, but my gut microbiome — the bacteria, viruses and fungi important to health — is mostly down to my mum, when I was a child at least.

That’s because in utero, our guts are sterile: but as we squeeze down the birth canal, we swallow a mixture of our mother’s fluids, seeding our guts with a unique blend of microbes that stay with us for years and play a role in our long-term health.

But babies born by Caesarean have different gut microbes and a greater risk of health problems such as obesity, asthma, food allergy and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Now scientists at the Southern Medical University in Guangzhou, China, have tried to address this: in a study, 65 newborns delivered by Caesarean had their face and mouth rubbed with a gauze soaked in either salty water or fluids from their mothers.

At six months old, the ‘microbe’ babies were developing faster and scoring higher on things such as communication and problem-solving. Similar studies are under way for asthma, eczema, ADHD and obesity.

While the new study is intriguing, it’s still early days and parents should definitely not try this themselves.

An afternoon nap may be what we all need

I was intrigued by a report in the Mail this week suggesting that a nap a day can keep memory loss at bay.

In a study published in the journal Sleep Health, researchers at University College London looked at data, including brain scans, from more than 35,000 people aged 40 to 69.

They found that regular nappers had bigger brains, suggesting that napping preserved their brain volume, which may lower the risk of dementia and other diseases. My wife, Clare, loves a short afternoon nap but I struggle to fit one into my day: perhaps I should, though.

I recently interviewed Dr Sara Mednick, a cognitive neuroscientist and sleep researcher at the University of California, for my podcast Just One Thing — and she told me that a 20-minute nap, taken shortly after lunch, is the ideal way to ‘push the reset button, increasing alertness and attention as well as sharpening motor skills (particularly if you need to perform a task that requires co-ordinated muscle movements)’.

All it requires is a bed or comfortable chair, and an alarm to wake you up. Doesn’t sound hard, does it? Perhaps I’ll give it another go.

One of the early signs of summer is that people start to shed shoes for flip-flops. Not only do these have little in the way of arch support (wearing them for too long can lead to problems such as plantar fasciitis, a painful condition where the tissue in the arch becomes inflamed), but a plastic surgeon friend says at this time of year he sees more than his fair share of people who have cut off toes while mowing the lawn in flip-flops.

And don’t forget to slather on the sunscreen, because when they’re uncovered, the tops of your feet are as vulnerable to the sun as your face.

Fern Britton set her fans tongues wagging on Monday evening as she revealed she had been catching up with her This Morning alum Eamonn Holmes.

The TV presenter, who co-hosted the show with Phillip Schofield between 1999 and 2009, revealed she had received an ‘unexpected call’ from Eamonn, 63.

Fern said that she and GB news presenter had been ‘shooting the breeze’ during the catch up, as fans quickly speculated about their topic of conversation.

Detailing their catch up on a Twitter post, Fern wrote: ‘Unexpected calls form old mates are so lovely. Just had the loveliest catch up with Eamonn Holmes.

‘I think we have known each other since the 80’s when we were babies [laughing face]. Shooting the breeze [heart emojis].’

Fern’s followers were convinced they had worked out what Fern and Eamonn were talking about, due to both previously appearing as hosts on This Morning.

Fern’s tweet comes hours after Eamonn launched a blistering attack on his former This Morning co-stars on Monday morning.

Phillip and his current co-host Holly Willoughby’s ‘feud’ has been hitting the headlines in recent days as sources claim their off-screen friendship is over.

One of Phil’s most well-publicised squabbles was with his former This Morning co-host Fern.

Menwhile, Phil also endured frosty relations with husband and wife presenting duo Eamonn and Ruth Langsford over the years.

Following their well-publicised rows with Phil, fans guessed that Eamonn had called Fern to discuss the fall out between Phillip and Holly.

One person quipped: ‘Pleased Eamonn rang this evening & not “This Morning”.’

A second person said: ‘Apparently there’s a certain sofa available from July.’

A third penned: ‘Can’t imagine what you’re talking about…’

Another said: ‘So much to catch up on, without of course, trying to be controversial here.’

One other wrote: ‘Would loved to have eavesdropped on that call. A lot of laughter I bet.’

A different person surmised: ‘Best subtweet ever!’

Phil and Fern presented the show together from 2002 to 2009 but have lost touch in the years since.

When Fern announced she was quitting This Morning, she addressed the entire team in general and didn’t mention Phil specifically.

In 2013, Phil confirmed in an interview with Heat that the pair were ‘not really’ in touch anymore.

Fern confirmed the same while speaking to MailOnline: ‘Like Morecambe and Wise, we chose not to live in each other’s pockets. We were a great professional partnership but we never went on holiday together.’

Fern – who has since become an author – was also absent from This Morning’s 25th anniversary celebrations that year but insisted it was nothing to do with Phil and she was simply busy.

In his book Life Is What You Make It, Phil revealed he had an awkward row with Fern in 2009 when she accused him of ‘meddling’ with the content of the show.

He wrote: ‘I walked back into the make-up room and calmly said, “Please don’t do that to me again”.

‘I think, for whatever reason, that was the point Fern decided she didn’t want to do This Morning any more.’

Their feud was back in the spotlight in 2018 when Fern appeared on This Morning via video link for the show’s 30th anniversary and claimed she wasn’t invited to the show’s BAFTA ceremony.

Speaking to Phil, she said: ‘Congrats on the BAFTA. That was absolutely wonderful and brilliant. I would have loved to have been there but I didn’t get an invitation.’

Phil was quick to dispute this, saying Fern was on stage in Scotland at the time but she replied: ‘I wasn’t on Monday night, I would have come but I wasn’t invited.’

Phil later suggested on Twitter that Fern was suffering from ‘memory loss’ and the team would have loved to have had her there.

Phillip also revealed Fern never got in touch with him after he came out as gay on This Morning in 2020, but she did message his wife Steph.

He said: ‘When I came out, she didn’t text me. She did text Steph though, which was really kind.’

Meanwhile, Phil’s conflict with Eamonn and Ruth all kicked off in 2019 when it was reported that Ruth had filed a complaint against Phil to ITV bosses.

Fans speculated the complaint may have been down to an awkward moment between the pair caught on camera that year.

Ruth appeared at the end of an episode of This Morning to preview what was coming up on Loose Women and was cut off by Phil while she was speaking.

Phil said: ‘Guys, we’re going to have to jump in there and stop you I’m afraid because we’re a bit tight for time at this end. Thank you, Ruth.’

Ruth, who clearly looked unimpressed with the interruption, responded: ‘Well I only had about two more words to say,’ and looked away from the camera.

Fern’s tweet comes hours after Eamonn launched a blistering attack on his former This Morning co-stars on Monday morning.

Amid crisis talks at ITV over the future of its two top stars, Eammon called the partnership ‘a broken fit’ as he discussed the fallout on his GB News show.

Referring to Sunday night’s BAFTA TV Awards, at which neither Phil nor Holly made an appearance, Eammon quipped: ‘I think there should have been a special award for Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby for best actors.’

‘They may or may not be together on the telly today. He’s brought in lawyers, she’s brought in a PR team. The public surely will suss that there’s no chemistry, that it’s a broken fit between the two of them and that This Morning does not depend on who presents it.’

Continuing, the ex This Morning star insisted: ‘It’s an institution, it will carry on no matter who presents it and anyone can check the viewing figures, there’s no difference between whether they present it or anyone else.’

Eamonn co-hosted the ITV daytime show with his wife Ruth Langsford from 2006 until August 2021, until being ‘dropped’ by ITV and replaced by Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary.

At 10am millions will be watched This Morning as Phil appeared on screen with Holly following crisis talks between ITV and the embattled pair over whether one of them, both or neither would be on air today.

Phil is trying to ‘tough out’ the ongoing row after it emerged he had called in his own lawyers over the fallout with his co-presenter, sources have revealed. He has also employed a new PR man to help improve his press coverage.

It comes as ITV confirmed that the pair would host the show, after more than 48 hours of crisis talks. Those close to the pair said the programme will continue to run smoothly, despite the feuding behind the scenes.

One source told The Sun: ‘Holly and Phil are professionals and they can turn it on like no one else.

‘Although behind the scenes their relationship is nothing like it was, they are both dedicated to This Morning and keeping it together for viewers.’

Bosses from the broadcaster were allegedly furious after Phil broke his silence with a shock statement about the fall out with his co-host of 14 years admitting ‘the last few weeks haven’t been easy for us’.

Despite this, Phil believes he can weather the ongoing storm but even those close to him have said it is down to whether the audience believes the pair still have on-screen chemistry.

Sources at the broadcaster described the situation as a ‘quandary’ for its bosses because both of the former friends were determined to get their own way.

Phil has consulted lawyers over the situation, which has been spiralling out of control for months.

The Daily Mail revealed this weekend that he has also hired Gordon Smart, a former Sun showbiz columnist and occasional Good Morning Britain host, to manage the crisis and ensure favourable press coverage.

It is a clear sign, say sources, that he is ‘taking this very seriously’ and is ‘keen to come out of the situation quickly’.

The feud began in September when the pair were criticised after failing to queue for the Queen’s Lying in State.

Things have become so bad that it is said they no longer speak when the cameras stop rolling. Holly has now cut all ties with Phil other than her This Morning commitments.