Ferne McCann voice notes: apology on This Morning explained - what did she say, did notes mention Sam Faiers?

Ferne McCann has been opening up on the voice note scandal as her series Ferne McCann: First Time Mum returned to ITVX.

The former TOWIE star who is pregnant with her second child broke down in tears during an interview on This Morning ahead of the new series return. She addressed the scandal, apologising to her fans and explaining she was unable to explain her “full truth” due to legal proceedings.

The voice notes surfaced on social media in September 2022, with the star allegedly saying things about her friend Sam Faiers, as well as commenting on the appearance of victims from her ex-boyfriend Arthur Collins’ acid attack. So, who leaked the voice notes and what did Ferne McCann say in her apology? Here’s everything you need to know.

Who leaked Ferne McCann’s voice notes?

McCann addressed the scandal in the first episode of her new series of Ferne McCann: First Time Mum. The voice notes appeared anonymously on Instagram from September to November 2022, with the reality TV star revealing to viewers she “remembers instantly” who was behind the leak. McCann also claimed the notes had been edited to remove the context. She explained: “There’s only one person I know who would want to inflict this much pain and damage - they destroyed me.”

What did the voice notes say about Sam Faiers?

The voice notes included comments made about McCann’s long term friend reality TV star Sam Faiers. In the leaked recordings, McCann called Faiers a “narcissistic b****”, and fat shamed her, calling her a “fat c*** with big thighs.”

Following the leak, Faiers mother, Suzie Wells took to her Instagram stories to address the comments. Wells said: “So after a few days of hurt, I can no longer sit back and say nothing. The vile voice note has been circulating social media, and now press articles are calling it a ‘feud’, which it is not.”

She continued: “This has come as a complete shock to myself and my family. Ferne has always been a very close family friend to all of us for over the past 20 years. It appears this voice note was sent just weeks after Samantha gave birth back in May. Since this voice note has surfaced more has been sent – very upsetting nasty things. We are as shocked as you are! Nobody should ever speak about their friends like this ever!”

Wells added: “My girls are my absolute everything and I’ll do anything to protect them. I don’t have anything else to say on the matter.”

What did they say about acid attack carried out by her ex Arthur Collins?

In the leaked voice notes McCann made comments about the appearance of a victim of her ex-boyfriend’s acid attack. Collins was jailed for 20 years after injuring multiple people in an acid attack at a nightclub in 2017. McCann and Collins share a child together, with the reality TV star announcing her pregnancy just days before the attack took place. In one of the leaked voice notes the former TOWIE star is heard calling one of Collins’ victims “ugly”.

Reported by the Daily Record in November 2022, Sophie Hall who was left scarred in the acid attack responded to the leaked voice notes, Hall said: “It has taken five years to rebuild my confidence after the attack. And now in just minutes all my hard work has been shattered by these malicious voice notes. ITV need to address what’s been said.”

Has the TOWIE star apologised?

McCann broke down in tears during an apology on This Morning on 15 March. The reality TV star admitted the incident “wasn’t my finest hour”. She continued: “It definitely was a very difficult time in my life when those voice notes were leaked. I need to publicly apologise again to those affected. The words I used were unpleasant and I have reached out privately to those people.”

McCann added she couldn’t share the “full truth” as “what went on” is “now part of a criminal investigation so I can’t.” She explained: “But these voice notes were from a time when I was in a very vulnerable situation and it was a very difficult situation. It was five or six years ago. I’ve since then done a lot of work on myself, I’ve been in therapy for six years. I am a different person.”