Gail Porter is a Scottish television presenter, television personality,
former model and actress. In the 1990s she became known for photos in men's
magazines such as FHM, including one nude which was projected on to the
Houses of Parliament. She moved into television, becoming a presenter on
British TV. Her modelling was affected by alopecia, which can sometimes result
in an almost total loss of her hair. Life and career
Porter attended Portobello High School. She studied for a BTEC HND in media
production at West Herts College. After making an unsuccessful bid to join the
presentation team of the BBC children's show Blue Peter, she has presented
family-friendly television programmes, or ones aimed at children. They include
The Movie Chart Show, Top of the Pops, and Live & Kicking, work for CITV, and
programmes such as The Big Breakfast and Gail Porter's Big 90s for VH1.
In the late 1990s she began to pose for magazines such as FHM. A picture of her
naked from behind was projected on the Houses of Parliament in 1999. FHM and
the guerrilla marketing company, Cunning Communications, and projectionist-artist
Malcolm Litson and Jason Bridges, accompanied it with a message to vote
for her in the FHM Sexiest Women Poll. In her autobiography, Porter says she
did not know about the stunt until it was reported the following day.
In 2001, Porter took part in the reality television show Celebrity Blind Man's
Bluff and in 2003, she was on Channel 4's The Games, although injury truncated
her participation. In 2004 to 2006 she presented three
series of Dead Famous and in 2009 presented episodes of The Gadget Show,
temporarily replacing Suzi Perry. In 2008 to 2011, Porter was a regular
panellist on Channel 5's The Wright Stuff.
In early 2009, Porter's mother died of lung cancer, aged 60.
In 2010, she was a guest team captain on What Do Kids Know? with Rufus Hound, Joe
Swash and Sara Cox on Watch. In August 2010, she began the Two Way Street
campaign for solicitors Russell Jones & Walker, an initiative to develop the
relationship between HGV drivers and cyclists, keeping them safer. In October
2010, Porter hosted a documentary on Current TV titled Gail Porter on
Prostitution which investigated prostitution laws.
In 2014, Porter said she would be guest editor of Fashion Plus magazine. She
appeared at London Fashion Week in September 2014 and wrote of her
experiences for the magazine. On 27th August 2015 she entered the
Celebrity Big Brother house representing the UK. On 15 September, she was the
fourth housemate to be evicted after spending 20 days in the house.
Alopecia In 2005 Porter developed alopecia
totalis, losing her hair. She decided not to wear a hat or wig in order to
raise awareness of the condition. She became ambassador for the Little
Princess Trust, a charity which provides wigs to children with hair loss. On
Richard & Judy on 15 February 2006 she showed her hair, eyebrows and eyelashes
were beginning to grow back. On 12 April 2006 she said "It is possible that I'm
going to get my hair back." By May 2010 hair had grown on three-quarters of her
scalp, and she was beginning to colour and style her hair. By the end of the
year, her hair had started falling out again.
Porter's alopecia totalis was the subject of the BBC ONE Life series
documentary Gail Porter Laid Bare on 31 May 2006.
Her autobiography, Laid Bare: My Story Of Love, Fame And Survival, was
published in September 2007. Other activities
She is a vice-president of The Children's Trust, a UK charity for
children with brain injury. Porter tried stand-up comedy and
appeared at the Comedy Store on 23 November 2009 in the Laughing Point
event to help the youth homelessness charity, Centrepoint.
Personal life Porter married Toploader guitarist Dan
Hipgrave in August 2001 and gave birth to their daughter Honey on 3 September
2002. She said in February 2005 that they had separated eight months earlier.
Before they met, Porter was in a relationship with Keith Flint, vocalist
from The Prodigy. Porter has been diagnosed with bipolar
disorder, and says she has insomnia. On 8 September 2011 Porter told BBC
Radio 5 Live's Phil Williams that she had been detained under the Mental
Health Act of 2007, for 17 days of treatment against her will. She stated
the signature on the documents to have her sectioned was that of her boyfriend,
after texting to him to say she felt suicidal. She said she had been "very
frail, so who knows". She said she felt no benefit from the stay. She praised
the staff but said the resources and facilities were under-funded.
References External links
Gail Porter at the Internet Movie Database