Fern Britton Meets...

Fern Britton returns with a new four part series for Advent, meeting people whose faith has played a special part in their lives.

Fern's first guest is June Brown who rose to fame as the gossipy Dot Cotton - now Branning - on EastEnders. She's now one of the soap's best loved characters, who wears her religious beliefs on her sleeve. June's on-screen conviction is mirrored off-camera and, just like her TV character, it has helped her overcome personal tragedies.

Clarissa Dickson Wright was one half of the Two Fat Ladies TV cookery duo, but is a complete character in her own right. As well as creating in the kitchen, Clarissa is an author and a champion of countryside pursuits. But as Fern discovers, Clarissa is lucky to be alive after a battle with alcohol and a hedonistic lifestyle. Clarissa says her Christian faith helped her pull through the dark times.

Fern Britton travels to America to meet one of its best-known political figures, the Reverend Jesse Jackson. He is an outspoken civil rights campaigner, and has run for President twice. While Jackson's supporters say he paved the way for Barack Obama, others have accused him of being divisive. But there is no denying that he has lived up to his catchphrase for the oppressed: "I am somebody".

Fern Britton meets Sir Cliff Richard, who has sold over 200 million records worldwide, and who, at the age of 70, says retirement is still not in his vocabulary.

Despite spending more than 50 years in an industry noted for hell-raising, Sir Cliff is a committed Christian who merely enjoys a glass of wine from his own vineyard, and he talks to Fern about the effect his faith has had on his life.