Gail Porter has opened up on why she has decided to get her first wig, over two decades after she lost her hair due to alopecia.
The television personality, 52, took to her Instagram last month to share snaps of herself wearing the long blonde wig as she gushed she ‘adored her new hair’.
Gail was first diagnosed with alopecia (hair loss) in 2005, with the star seeing her TV work dry up at the time and she later found herself homeless.
She refused to wear wigs in order to raise awareness of the condition, but was recently convinced to try one by her friend Amber Jean Rowan, a model and wigmaker.
Speaking to The Sun, she said that her new hairpiece allows her the freedom to try different looks or even slip under the radar, as no one recognises her with the hairdo.
However, she insisted that still ‘loves being bald’ and that she likes how people will come up to her in public to talk about hair loss.
Gail said: ‘The bald head will forever be my “thing” and my look, but this is a way for me to dress up for special occasions or go incognito, as no one will recognise me.’
Speaking about her hair loss, she admitted: ‘I’m so used to not having hair that I’m not sure what the fuss is about.
‘It all happened so quickly that I just had to get on with it and I was determined not to let anyone bring me down.’
Gail added: ‘I don’t think I’m a role model but if me being bald or me wearing a wig gives someone the confidence to go and try it for themselves, I’m glad.’
She said she had tried on a lot of different colours and styles of wigs, but opted for her long blonde hairpiece because it ‘reminded me of being back in the Nineties and I was quite happy going back there’.
Gail was at the height of her career in the 1990s, hosting shows including Top Of The Pops, and The Big Breakfast.
However, in 2005 she lost her hair, eyebrows and eyelashes and after vowing not to wear a wig for television appearances, work dried up.
She previously explained on the Sacrifice and Success podcast: ‘My personality took a bit of a knock. Jobs just stopped, because you don’t look the same.
‘”Would you wear a wig, would you mind wearing a wig?” No I don’t want to wear a wig. This is how it is.’
Gail, once listed by FHM among the world’s sexiest women, also split from her ex-husband Dan Hipgrave in the same period, after tying the knot in August.
She said: ‘I was going through a divorce, no money coming in. So eventually I had nowhere to stay. It just went from bad to worse. Things like, what do you do? Do I drink? I’ve got no clue whatsoever, I don’t take drugs so…
‘I had loads of great friends but it was getting embarrassing, because I’m in my forties. My daughter’s staying at her dads.
‘I’ve got no money, I’ve got no work, I’m sleeping on people’s couches. It was like the Young Ones. I didn’t think I was going to be like this at my age.
‘This is why you don’t take everything for granted. You must always remember how lucky you are and be extremely kind.’
Gail recalled that at one point, she also did not have enough credit on her phone to be able to get in contact with anyone.
‘So there were a few times I didn’t have enough money on my phone to call anybody,’ she added.
‘If I found a pound I was thinking, what do I do with a pound? I’ll see if I can find another one and get a mini bottle of wine from the local off license or those little ones. Anything for comfort. I was freezing as well, because I was outside.’
The TV star was sectioned under the Mental Health Act in 2011 for 17 days and diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Gail has credited her daughter Honey, 20, who she shares with ex Dan, for motivating her to ‘save her own life’, as she later sought treatment.
She said: ‘I went to rehab for my depression, self-harming, if I didn’t have Honey I wouldn’t be here. One hundred percent. I would not be here. But I thought, I could not do that to my daughter at all.’
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Laura Adams is a tech enthusiast residing in the UK. Her articles cover the latest technological innovations, from AI to consumer gadgets, providing readers with a glimpse into the future of technology.
