EXCLUSIVE: TV chef Phil Vickery is seen basking in the sun at Southport Flower Show with his ex-wife’s friend Lorraine Spanton who he was spotted kissing last September

EXCLUSIVE: TV chef Phil Vickery is seen sunbathing on the Southport Flower Show with Lorraine Spanton, the boyfriend of his ex-wife, who he was seen kissing last September

When TV chef Phil Vickery was spotted in London last September kissing Lorraine Spanton, the best friend of his second ex-wife, Fern Britton, the act was deemed illegal.

But that humiliation seemed a distant memory yesterday as the This Morning star, 62, basked in the sun at the Southport Flower Show.

Lorraine, 58, sat barely a spatula’s length from him, hiding her eyes behind a pair of sunglasses.

“They spent the day together,” a show visitor recounts, adding that Lorraine watched in admiration as Phil cooked for an audience.

“When Phil finished, they went for coffee,” says my green-fingered informant, “and then a beer.”

TV chef Phil Vickery basked in the sun at the Southport Flower Show on Tuesday. Just a spatula’s length from him sat Lorraine Spanton, 58, her eyes hidden behind a pair of sunglasses

Vickery was spotted in London last September kissing Spanton, the best friend of his second ex-wife, Fern Britton

Vickery was spotted in London last September kissing Spanton, the best friend of his second ex-wife, Fern Britton

Fern Britton and Phil Vickery are pictured together in April 2017

Fern Britton and Phil Vickery are pictured together in April 2017

Vickery is seen smiling as he watches Stanton during their outing at the Southport Flower Show

Vickery is seen smiling as he watches Stanton during their outing at the Southport Flower Show

But the couple refrained from any public display of affection that could be open to misinterpretation – as was the case last year when they were forced to deny romance speculation.

On that occasion, Vickery, who parted ways with 66-year-old Britton three and a half years ago, was convinced that their meeting was innocent.

Asked about a possible new romance, he said of Lorraine, who has worked in the hospitality industry and has two children with estranged husband Simon: ‘She’s just a friend. We’re just friends having lunch, for God’s sake.’

Lorraine admitted last year that she had moved out of her marital home, but insisted “it had nothing to do with the incident,” given the photos.

Meanwhile, Fern, who left her daytime TV role in This Morning in 2009, was far from a woman scorned for the pictures. She dismissed any speculation about a relationship between the pair as “not true.” I wonder what she’ll say this time…

A Vickery representative could not be reached for comment.

Vickery and Stanton were all smiling as they sat together at the flower show on Tuesday

Vickery and Stanton were all smiling as they sat together at the flower show on Tuesday

Stanton smiles as she stares at Vickery during their outing

Stanton smiles as she stares at Vickery during their outing

Stanton appears to show Vickery, who is carrying a box, a document as the pair walk together

Stanton appears to show Vickery, who is carrying a box, a document as the pair walk together