In 2017, her show Ferne McCann: First Time Mum offered a different kind of reality television: less performative than what had come before and, in her words, “more fly-on-the-wall.” Filmed during her first pregnancy, the series documented Ferne’s entry into single motherhood amid a period of intense public scrutiny. Yet, almost paradoxically, the cameras gave her something she needed. “The show was a lifeline,” Ferne says. “It was an escape.” It allowed her to tell her story on her own terms, away from headlines and speculation. Motherhood also narrowed Ferne’s focus in a way she hadn’t experienced before. “It’s like no other experience,” she says of her daughter, Sunday. “She gave me purpose.”

When Ferne later welcomed her second daughter, Finty, she was no longer navigating parenthood alone, but within a blended family. “I actually found it harder, at times, doing it with someone else,” she admits. On her own, Ferne relied on instinct, on herself; with someone else, decisions became shared, negotiated. This change was reflected in the show’s rebranding to Ferne McCann: My Family and Me, which widened its lens to include co-parenting, partnership, and the realities of a growing household.

The most significant turning point of Ferne’s career came in 2024, when she chose to end the series altogether. “It gave me so much,” she says. “But towards the end, I was ready.” The decision took more than a year to reach, but felt increasingly right as Sunday approached seven years old. “It was my decision to do reality TV. Sunday never had that choice,” Ferne says. She speaks with genuine gratitude for what the show gave her, but also with a determination to not to let visibility define what comes next for her children and their futures.