Gail Porter: Everything you need to know about Scottish TV personality

Gail Porter. Image: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

From her past as a sought-after television presenter to sleeping rough, Gail Porter’s career in the limelight has been far from smooth.

Following a stint at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with her very own stand up act - which she will soon take on tour - and after receiving an award for Being Gail Porter, the presenter has been stepping back into the spotlight.

Here’s everything you need to know about Gail Porter.

How old is Gail Porter?

Gail Porter is 52 years old. She was born in Edinburgh on March 23rd 1971 and grew up in the Portobello area of the city.

Career

Gail Porter began her career presenting a number of TV programmes, such as Fully Booked, The Big Breakfast and Top of the Pops.

In addition, she has participated in shows such as Celebrity Blind Man’s Buff, a documentary where a number of celebrities participated in an experiment about being blind. She also hosted Dead Famous, The Gadget Show and The Wright Stuff. While her TV appearances at this point were sporadic, her living situation worsened with the presenter unable to make ends meet.

In 2015, after a period of homelessness, Porter entered the Celebrity Big Brother house. She told the Metro: “I thought, this is not the sort of programme I want to do, but if I’m gonna get a roof over my head with a little bit of money, then I’ll do it. So, I did.”

She took part in the show for 20 days before being evicted, and has described the experience as “worse than being sectioned”.

Gail Porter entered the Celebrity Big Brother house to acquire housing. Image: Ian Gavan/Getty Images

The presenter has since gone on to work on her own documentary which received the 2020 BAFTA Scotland Single Documentary award, narrated BBC Scotland series Inside the Zoo and is the host of Haunted Scotland.

Recently, Porter also made an appearance at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with her show Hung, Drawn and Portered where she was praised for her vulnerability.

The Scottish television presenter is also an ambassador for charities such as Samaritans, which she credits for having helped her through difficult periods of her life, and Together Co, a Brighton and Hove-based organisation which looks to tackle loneliness charity.

On November 11 she will abseil down the Brighton i360 tower to raise money for Together Co and in 2024 she will go on tour with her comedy show Hung, Drawn and Portered which she was praised for during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for her vulnerability.

What happened with Gail Porter on the Houses of Parliament?

In the late nineties, a nude image of Porter – taken for FHM’s 100 sexiest women campaign – was projected along the Houses of Parliament as part of guerrilla marketing stunt.

In her autobiography, Laid Bare, she shared that the first she heard of the incident was as it was being reported in the news the following day.

Gail Porter was popular on British TV. Image: Getty

She has shared that she was never paid for the display, telling BBC Scotland: “I've dealt with things since I was 18 but that knocked my confidence a lot - to think I had trusted someone and then to find my bottom on Big Ben.

“I had to deal with the backlash, some people were kind and some people were unkind. It made me stay in bed for quite a long time.”

Gail Porter’s relationships

In 2001 Porter married Dan Hipgrave, the guitarist of British band Toploader. By 2004, the pair had separated before eventually divorcing in 2006. Porter and her former partner Hipgrave share one daughter together, Honey.

She has stated that Keith Flint, the late Prodigy frontman, was “the love of my life”.

Gail Porter and daughter Honey in 2011. Image: Ian Gavan/Getty Images

Speaking with Louis Theroux’s Grounded podcast, she said: “I absolutely loved him, I miss him, terrible what happened.

"I think it was the first time I actually felt like, 'please don't leave me', that kind of love".

Gail Porter mental health and alopecia

Following the birth of her daughter, Porter was diagnosed with postnatal depression. At the time, she told the Guardian how she had talked herself out of going to the doctor over her concerns, before eventually being prescribed antidepressants.

Around 2005, at the height of her presenting career, Porter developed alopecia totalis which saw her lose all of her hair. Porter became an advocate for the condition, working with charities such as the Little Princess Trust.

Porter has struggled with her mental health, self harm and substance abuse. In 2011 she was sectioned under the Mental Health Act, and has since discussed her journey in BBC documentary Being Gail Porter.