Pride of Britain Awards 2022: Ferne McCann suffers a VERY awkward red carpet reunion with Sam Faiers

Feuding former TOWIE stars Ferne McCann and Sam Faiers had a rather uneasy run up to the Pride of Britain Awards in London on Monday.

The former best friends, whose dramatic feud has made headlines in recent weeks, both took to the red carpet at the coveted event in similar brown dresses.

It comes after Ferne, 32, reportedly branded Sam, 31, a “fat c***” and “narcissistic bitch” in leaked voice memos.

On the evening, Ferne turned heads in a form-fitting, long-sleeved dress with a high neck and a cut-out at the waist.

She completed her look with her dark locks and around her face and wearing makeup including a nude lip.

Sam, meanwhile, walked the red carpet with her husband Paul Knightley, stunning in an elegant brown dress with feather detailing on the sleeves and a thigh split.

Sam pulled her dark locks from her face and into an elegant, low bun.

Last week, Ferne broke her silence after the scandal with voices.

Fresh off completing Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, the former TOWIE star, 32, revealed on Instagram that she had “encountered difficulties in her life” during the experience.

The reality star wrote: ‘What a journey. Joining @sas_whodareswins was one of the most humiliating and hardest things I’ve ever done.

“I can honestly say it has changed my life. The whole experience makes you look at every part of yourself – your strengths, your weaknesses, your deepest fears.

‘It taught me resilience, self-acceptance and that every moment is an opportunity for change. It has given me the confidence to finally face, deal with and move on from difficulties in my life.

“I went to the series to prove to myself that I can be strong and I wanted to make Sunday proud. It was a big shock to the system!

“Every day I cried for Sunday, every day I wanted to leave, my body ached and I missed home so much. But I had my personal reasons why I had to stick with it.

“Yes, I completed it and I passed, but if SAS taught me anything, it taught me to take things one step at a time, push a little harder to the next morning, keep up with one more task .

Moments will hit you, you’ll mess it up, but you have to find that resilience and grit to pick yourself up and go again.

“Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, life will always throw up something else, and as the DS says, it’s how you handle it that matters,” she added in part of her lengthy post.

Ferne made headlines earlier this month after the audio footage was posted from an Instagram account.

Sam and Ferne, who co-starred in The Only Way Is Essex, were friends for over 20 years before the drama.

Ferne is reportedly devastated by the leaked notes and “can’t stop crying” as she has received comments online from fans after the audio appeared to show she was calling Sam a “fat bastard.”

‘Her thighs are so big and I looked really skinny today,’ the post continued – cutting to other clips that allegedly describe Sam, Ferne said: ‘The kind of girl she is, she’s just a narcissistic bitch, she won honestly doesn’t matter.’

The Instagram account wrote alongside the clip: ‘@FerneMcCann what a jealous bitter woman talking about your so called best friend @SamanthaFaiers you’ve known for 20 years.

“As a friend, you should support your friends and not run to other friends to beat them.”

The voice messages are said to have been sent by Ferne to a friend on WhatsApp in June, just a month after Sam gave birth to her third baby, Edward.

But sharing that Ferne “don’t know what to do,” a source explained: “She’s in a living nightmare and wants this to stop. People don’t know all the facts. All eyes are on what might appear next on this Instagram account.”

“If those voice memos were made by Ferne, that’s incredibly damaging. She is currently seen as a little poisonous. No one can believe she would say such things.’

Sam unfollowed Ferne on Instagram during the drama, with her sister Billie reportedly calling her former co-star to find out about the situation.

According to The sunFerne has now contacted Essex Police to see if they can locate the anonymous person behind an Instagram account who shared the shocking voice notes.

A source said: ‘Ferne was visited by police on Thursday night after her life was turned upside down by a fake account that launched a malicious smear campaign against her.

“Agents spent a few hours with her and assured that they are prioritizing this case and following the responsible parties.

“After taking statements, the police are currently tracing the whereabouts of the fake account. The Online Safety Bill was discussed as they curb cybercrime.”

The voice messages also reportedly show Ferne lashing out at Sam’s sister Billie, saying it was “weird” that Billie decided to name her son Arthur – the name of Ferne’s ex Arthur Collins, with whom she shares a daughter on Sunday.

Arthur, 29, is currently serving a 20-year sentence after being found guilty of carrying out a brutal acid attack in 2017. Ferne was raised as a single parent on Sunday.

The voice message says, “It feels so weird to say ‘Arthur’ I can’t believe it, it’s like having a little boy and calling him Greg anyway, whatever.”

However, many fans have flocked to Ferne’s defense, insisting that everyone make comments ‘behind closed doors’, claiming the feud should be resolved privately.

On social media, one fan said: “Always two sides to every story. You never know what happens behind closed doors. Fact.’

Another wrote: ‘I really don’t agree with this but can’t get it resolved privately, I think Ferne will be in a very bad position here, however much she’s done wrong, two mistakes don’t make right.’