A woman says appearing on a new TV show in which three actors pretended to own her Kent home was "one of the most amazing experiences" of her life.

Fern Maxted, who lives in a restored barn near Ashford with her family, starred in the debut episode of BBC's new series, This Is My House.

It took Twitter by storm when it first aired last week and has received a 5 star review in The Guardian.

Presented by Stacey Dooley, it sees four people desperately trying to convince a panel of celebrity judges that the house featured is theirs and that they are the real 'Fern Maxted'.

They cooked up back stories in their attempt to prove the other three are fakes, and they are the actual homeowner. In fact, the real Fern even licked her sofa to show she was its owner.

The celebrity panel watch clips of the contestants and then decide who is the real deal.

If they get it right, the homeowner wins a cash prize. If they get it wrong, the homeowner wins nothing.

Now, the real Fern, 33, has spoken to KentOnline about her time on the show and her love for Ashford.

It comes after one of the other contestants, Fern 1, jokingly insulted the town by saying it is a 'glorified bus stop'.

She also criticised the options for hair salons by saying: "No one in town knows how to do a good foil."

Fern, who is a mum of three and married to Mark, said: "Filming This Is My House was honestly one of the most amazing experiences of my life; I feel so lucky to have had the chance to do it.

"Not only did I get to be a part of the hustle and bustle of producing a prime time show, but the format was so much fun."

During the show, the other three Ferns had to also pretend to be married to Mark.

Fern explains: "In the words of Fern 3, the guys weren’t really pretending to be me - they were all cooking up some sort of wild gobbledygook!

"I was mainly worried about how Mark felt about this, not me, because he is actually a very private person.

"Having said that, he is such a fantastic husband and he was happy to support me in making the most of the opportunity.

"Out of the four of us ‘Ferns’, I think I was in the best position to be able to have some fun with it because I knew for sure my reactions to their stories wouldn’t be hurting anyone’s feelings.

"We have all met a ‘Fern 1’ in our time and had to bite our lip to keep the peace! This was my chance to let off some lockdown steam and be able to tell her exactly what I thought!"

Fern said that the comments from the other contestants didn't bother her: "Fern 1, whose real name is Molly, is actually a comedienne.

"I am going to lay down the gauntlet and propose she does a sketch here in Ashford about how to make friends and influence people?!

"Maybe even at the station?!

"We have a list of things that we are proud of in Ashford, from the Chapeldown Brewery, the Outlet, the Julie Rose stadium - not to mention how stunning our countryside is.

"We also have things to look forward to - such as the new Netflix/Amazon studios in Newtown.

"But the one thing I do know about most of us Ashfordians, is that we don’t mind having a bit of a joke and a laugh - even if it is about ourselves!"

Fern said it was 'surreal' watching the show on Wednesday night, adding: "I was pretty anxious as the show was the first in the series, but now I can kick back on my sofa, relax and enjoy the other episodes without the pressure of being in it!

"Myself and the other Ferns started the Whatsapp group of all Whatsapp groups to support each other through the whole thing.

"We shared our worries and anxieties with each other - as well as just having a good laugh about it!

"One of the best things about doing the show is meeting amazing people like these guys. As we always say - Ferns forever!

"I’m looking forward to telling my kids when they are teenagers that their mother was ‘trending at number 1’ on Twitter for a while!"

Fern, a former teaching assistant, moved into her converted barn four years ago and has set up a house Instagram account called @the.little.birds.nest.

She now hopes to focus on a career in interior design and convert a few holiday lets.

You can watch This Is My House on iPlayer.

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