Gail Porter has made the bold decision to wear a wig for the first time since losing her hair to alopecia 13 years ago.
The 47-year-old television presenter has lived for over a decade with no hair and refused to cover up her baldness in order to raise awareness of the condition but she appeared on ‘Loose Women’ on Monday (13.08.18) in a long blonde wig marking what is the start of a new chapter for her.
Shedding a few tears as she sat with panel whilst the studio audience loudly cheered, Gail uttered: "I said, ‘I’m definitely not going to cry because I’ve got good make-up on!’ It feels really nice, but really weird. I keep wanting to do this [flicks hair] all the time. I gasped when I saw it! It reminds me of being young. I feel quite young today … I feel a bit Peter Pan-ish [with the wig]."
Gail chose the blonde wig because it was reminiscent of her old long natural locks which she had in the 90s at the height of her modelling and TV fame.
The Scottish star was one of the most in-demand models of the decade regularly appearing in men’s magazines and she even had her naked body projected onto the Houses of Parliament by FHM for a promotional stunt. She also worked on a host of television shows including ‘The Big Breakfast’, ‘Wish You Were Here’ and ‘Top of the Pops’.
Explaining why she selected the wig style that she did, she said: "It was kind of just, I wasn’t really entirely sure, I was thinking maybe pink, maybe something different. When I saw this colour it reminded me of being in the ’90s and I thought, I quite like that. It was fitted for me.
"I was going to wear it in plaits, I wasn’t sure. I don’t know what to do. This is the first time I’ve had it on. I can take it off and be bald. I love being bald, I’m so used to it. But I wanted to show other people you can get things as real as this."
But Gail – who was previously married to Toploader guitarist Dan Hipgrave, with whom she has 15-year-old daughter Honey – is adamant she will not wear the wig all the time and intends to still be bald for "half the week".
She vowed: "I think I’ll always be bald half the week. I don’t know when I’ll wear this. Maybe go out for dinner or something. I enjoy feeling bald, I understand what you’re saying, I want people to be aware you have a choice. It’s beginning to feel normal now. It’s so secure on my head, it’s been fitted for me … I’m used to being bald. This is fun. It feels almost like …. the way people have got wardrobes, you can put your hair up… I can take mine off. I can put a different colour on."
Revealing Honey’s reaction, Gail added: "She sent me a message saying, ‘You look lovely’. Honey likes me whatever. She’s used to me bald. It’d take her a wee while to get used to this."
Gail Porter weeps as she wears wig
