Gail Porter’s dad told her that he believes she developed mental health problems because she "moved to London" from Scotland.
The 48-year-old star has lived with the mental health conditions post-natal depression and bipolar disorder and she was sectioned under the Mental Health Act in 2011.
Gail has also battled anorexia and lost all of her hair after developing the autoimmune condition alopecia totalis, and she has opened up on the issues that have affected her for the past two decades in new BBC Scotland documentary ‘Being Gail Porter’.
In the doc, Gail meets up with her father who places the blame to all her troubles on relocating from Edinburgh to London for her TV career, which at its height in the 1990s saw her work on ‘Blue Peter’, ‘Top of the Pops’ and ‘The Big Breakfast’.
Speaking on ‘Lorraine’ on Monday (27.01.20), she said: "My dad lives in Spain, so it was an odd conversation and we got down to the fact that it was my fault for moving to London. It was sort of a round about way going, ‘Well if you didn’t move to London…’"
Gail’s TV popularity and beauty led to her becoming a popular pin-up and posing for a number of lads’ mags, including the famous FHM issue that made all the news channels due to her bare bum being beamed onto the Houses of Parliament in London in 1999.
Gail’s income started to significantly reduce from 2005 when she was forced to give up modelling because of her hair loss and the television work also started drying up.
She had to file for bankruptcy in 2017, which left her homeless and at times having to sleep rough on a park bench in Hampstead Heath, London, because she couldn’t afford to rent a property.
Gail believes she has managed to lift herself up from rock bottom thanks to her Scottish heritage.
She explained: "I think how I was brought up Scottish, I think that helps, we are very stoic. I was embarrassed about certain bits, being homeless and stuff, I didn’t really want to discuss but I knew I could get through this."
Gail also praised her 17-year-old daughter Honey – whose dad in the presenter’s ex-husband, Toploader guitarist Dan Hipgrave – for her love and support, and she admits that making the documentary has brought the pair closer together.
The former model said: "She knows certain bits, but she doesn’t know all of it. And then she came to my flat and said, ‘I actually watched it yesterday, Mum.’ And I said, ‘Oh no, I’m so sorry.’ And she said she cried and I said, ‘What did you cry for?’ And she said, ‘You didn’t tell me everything.’ We have got even stronger together, so I got lots of hugs. She’s great."
Gail Porter told by dad her mental health issues cause by move to London
