This Morning host Ben Shephard became emotional as he interviewed Fearne Cotton on the show

View 3 Images

Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley hosted the show(Image: ITV screengrab)

This Morning host Ben Shephard became visibly emotional whilst discussing longtime friend Fearne Cotton’s new book on the ITV show.

The presenter has written Likeable, which explores how she spent years prioritising others’ happiness over her own wellbeing, reports the Daily Star.

She appeared on the daytime show on Thursday (March 12) and whilst talking about the publication and her Happy Place festivals, Ben appeared to become tearful, saying: “I’m going to cry.”

“I texted you on Friday because we got given a copy of your book and I sat on my own and I read it, in a pub,” he explained. “I couldn’t stop reading it. It’s an extraordinary sort of testament to what you’ve done, what you’ve lived through, what you’ve experienced… so honest.”

View 3 Images

Fearne Cotton appeared on This Morning(Image: ITV screengrab)

When asked about her motivation for writing, Fearne revealed: “In the book, you’ll read in the first chapter, I had this massive wake up call where I was in therapy… And my therapist said to me, I was waffling on about whatever.

“And I was censoring myself a bit, putting lots of excuses in the mix. And she stopped me in my tracks and just said, ‘I’m going to ask you a question. How important is it that I like you?’ And I cried.

“And I thought, why on Earth am I crying? What is that reaction about? So that was a bit of a wake up call for me to think this has maybe gone a bit too far that I’m trying to win my therapist over.”

Ben asked: “You did it for a long time and it had a really detrimental effect on you physically and emotionally?”

“I think so,” the star responded. “And I can’t attribute every physical or mental outcome I’ve had and say, ‘Oh, that’s all to do with people pleasing.’ But I think bits of it certainly are.”

View 3 Images

The presenter appeared to get tearful on the show(Image: ITV screengrab)

“I think I was in a state in my life where I just said yes to everything, tried to help everybody, do everything for everybody,” Fearne explained. “And I was at the bottom of the pile.”

Ben revealed that when he visited one of Fearne’s Happy Place festivals, he wandered about with a “joyous look” on his face “just thinking, my little mate created this.”

“I was so, I mean, I’m going to cry,” he admitted. “And then when I was reading the book on Friday, it was really hard for me to read because you are so creative and so brilliant at what you do and your experience was so hard for me to think that you’ve gone through it and you sharing that is so important for us.”

The duo told Ben’s co-host Cat Deeley they had been friends for years, with Ben sharing: “My first screen test was with her (Fearne).”