Frail Gail battles Alopecia

AN emotional Gail Porter has opened her heart about her dramatic hair loss and told how she gained strength from the man in her life.

The lovestruck telly star told The Sun: “Every morning my boyfriend tells me how beautiful I am. That’s what keeps me going.”

Gail — whose daring new Mohican look was revealed in yesterday’s Sun — tearfully told of her horror at discovering her attractive blonde locks were falling out.

She said: “I woke up one morning about a month ago and there were clumps of my hair missing.

“I was terrified and completely shocked. Then on Thursday I woke up and decided to shave it all off.”

Gail left a long patch in the middle which she then had styled into a Mohican — dyed bright red.

Her alopecia is the latest in a long line of troubles — but cameraman boyfriend James Lloyd has given her the courage to face the public with a condition that many women would want to hide away.

And the couple were inseparable at a TV launch party where she showed off her bald scalp for the first time on Thursday night.

James, 30, barely left her side as she spoke to well-wishers at the bash, often with tears streaming down her face.

At the end of the long night, 34-year-old Gail broke down in front of photographers as she was helped to a waiting car.

An onlooker said: “She was really brave but obviously still in a very fragile state. She seemed to be in a world of her own at times and kept breaking down in tears.

“She was overwhelmed by people’s kindness.”

Gail, who found fame as a children’s television presenter then as a lad’s mag pin-up, split from husband Dan Hipgrave, from the band Toploader, last year.

After the birth of the couple’s daughter Honey, now three, Gail suffered post-natal depression.

She said: “It’s been a stressful couple of years. It was awful when I realised what was happening to my hair but I just thought I should be brave and take the whole lot off. It’s a relief.

“The clumps were falling out daily and I tried to wear wigs to hide it but they didn’t look or feel right. People were starting to notice and I didn’t want to lie to my friends.”

Well-wishers cheered as Gail put on a brave face to walk down the catwalk at the London party to showcase Living TV’s autumn schedule.
It was an outward sign of her inner strength. For despite her tears, Gail is determined to overcome her troubles.

And the Scottish star has had more than her fair share.

In the past two years, she seems to have lurched from one crisis to another.

The girl at Thursday’s bash bore little resemblance to the Gail of old.
Seven years ago, she seemed to have the world at her feet.

Cute, bubbly and with a body to die for, she was tipped for big things.

And when her near-perfect naked curves were projected 100ft high on to the side of the House of Commons by a men’s mag, her future seemed assured.

So where did that cocky, confident young woman go? Gail’s recent woes seemed to start with her post-natal depression.

She said of that difficult time: “I felt inadequate. I felt as if I’d done everything wrong and I couldn’t stop crying.”

Then, when her marriage ended on her say-so in December last year after a series of rows, Gail hit an all-time low.

Her career had faltered, her marriage was over and the demons which had haunted her finally threatened to overwhelm her.

In March this year, alone and overwrought, she took 30 pain-killers and slashed her arms before coming to her senses and calling her doctor for help.

It was a sobering low. Losing her hair seems one act of cruelty too far — but James has given her the strength to cope.

The pair’s relationship intensified after her dramatic suicide bid, which she now admits was a “cry for help”.

She said: “James really looked after me and put the smile back on my face.”

And James, who Gail met while filming Dead Famous for Living TV, has been helping her cope with her hair loss. He said: “I think Gail is stunning.

“She’s really beautiful and with her new hair she looks like a cross between Pebbles from The Flintstones and Tank Girl from the comic strip.”

It seems James recognises how fragile the seemingly feisty Gail really is. For her problems really began long before the birth of baby Honey.

Back in school in the seaside town of Portobello near Edinburgh, the young Gail was the butt of taunts by bullies.

They stirred the pretty schoolgirl to bullishly boast to her careers officer that her ambition was simply to be famous.

But she soon discovered her dream took just as much hard work as any other job.

She spent four years as a runner with a TV company before landing a part on the BBC children’s programme Fully Booked.

But during her twenties she was plagued by anorexia, with her weight plummeting to 6st.

But throughout it all, Gail has always been honest about her problems — and it was clear this week that her hair loss was no exception.

Gail said: “I was so nervous about unveiling my new look and I really didn’t know how everyone would react to it.

“To do it at such a public event, was so scary. I had two glasses of champagne to give me some Dutch courage but I was terrified.

“Then halfway down the catwalk I just burst into tears because the reaction was amazing and everyone was cheering and clapping me. I felt so touched. I just cried.”

Gail is clearly determined to win the war against her troubles.

But, as her tears betrayed, there are still so many vulnerable chinks in her suit of armour.