Fern Britton back on This Morning

Britton has been a regular host on This Morning since 2001

This Morning host Fern Britton has returned to the ITV1 daytime show following a short break.

Britton, 50, had some time off after admitting she had had stomach surgery.

Some reports speculated she was due to have "talks" with ITV bosses on Wednesday, but she took her place next to co-host Phillip Schofield.

Britton, whose dramatic weight-loss had been widely attributed to diet and exercise, admitted she had gastric banding in 2006.

Criticism

Since then the star, who is married to celebrity chef Phil Vickery, has shed three stone.

It had previously been reported that cycling, walking a family dog and eating less were the driving factors behind the weight loss.

Britton faced criticism in the press and from some fans after admitting to the surgery.

She told This Morning viewers last week that she had spoken very carefully about eating less and exercising more and what she said was "absolutely true".

She added that she did not feel the need to "tell everybody" when she initially underwent surgery, and only decided to go public after a Sunday newspaper said it planned to run the story.

Britton, who has presented the popular ITV show since 2001, made light of the situation, joking: "If I have a face-lift or haemorrhoids or something, I will ring the Sunday papers straight away."