Gail Porter reveals depression forced her to have op that reduced her 28JJ breasts to 28C
'Now they're perky, so am I,' says nineties pin-up as she talks about battle with anorexia, depression and anxiety
WHEN a 100ft naked picture of her curvy body was beamed on to the Houses of Parliament, Gail Porter’s status as a Nineties pin-up was set.
Yet behind the glossy showbiz facade was a fragile young woman crippled by depression and anorexia.
Today, in an exclusive interview with The Sun, brave Gail has revealed for the first time that her naturally large breasts were the root cause of her mental torture.
When she did the publicity stunt for FHM magazine in 1999, 5ft 2in Gail was a 30DD.
But the mum-of-one, 45, said: “I always hated my massive breasts. When they were projected on the Houses of Parliament I still had no body confidence.
“I resorted to the point of anorexia just to get rid of them, but they wouldn’t go. If I put on weight it went straight to my breasts.”
Two months ago, Gail made the decision to finally get a reduction. Her breasts are now 8lb lighter.
She said: “It’s the best thing I’ve ever done.
“People think it’s great to have big boobs but I’ve struggled with them all my life. My boobs were so big on my tiny frame that my back had actually started to curve.
“When I took my bra off, my boobs would fall down to my knees and clap together. Now they stand up on their own.”
The former Top Of The Pops presenter has gone from a back-breaking 28JJ to a perfectly proportioned 28C.
Yet it was her hourglass figure that made the Scottish beauty a lads’ mag staple and propelled her to fame.
Born in Edinburgh, to mum Sandra and dad Craig, who was a building worker, Gail began her working life as a runner for a television company. But she soon found her way in front of the camera presenting children’s shows including former BBC Saturday morning show Live & Kicking.
Thanks to her doe-eyed good looks and large breasts, lads’ mags soon came calling.
And despite being idolised by millions, the doubts about her body image refused to fade.
During her twenties, Gail lived on a diet of cucumber and grapes, dangerously restricting her diet in a bid to reduce her bra size.
At at one point weighed less than six-and-a-half stone. Gail said: “When I was modelling I was very thin, purely because I wanted to make my breasts as small as possible.”
Despite a bubbly on-screen persona, she has battled bipolar disorder, depression and alcoholism.
Gail was sectioned under the Mental Health Act after a breakdown in 2011 but says she has been suffering with depression since the age of 19.
She had a series of high-profile relationships, including a whirlwind romance with The Prodigy’s Keith Flint and a marriage to Toploader guitarist Dan Hipgrave in 2001.
Their daughter Honey was born the following year, but they split in 2004.
Gail developed alopecia in 2005, which meant she lost her long blonde hair, eyebrows, lashes and body hair in less than a month.
She described herself as looking like “a big baby with boobs”.
Now she says: “I’m a big baby with smaller boobs!”
It took years of soul-searching for Gail to finally book in for the breast reduction treatment — after a cancer scare gave her the courage.
She said: “In 2008 I had a routine check-up for my boobs. I have them checked every so often because I have a family history of problems.
“Usually it’s pretty routine but this time they found a few lumps and took a biopsy.
“Waiting for those results was the scariest two weeks of my life.”
It was a particularly terrifying time for Gail because her mum died of lung cancer in 2009, aged 60.
She said: “I was a mess with worry but thankfully the lumps were benign. It made my mind up to get the surgery. I was going to get the lumps removed so I might as well get the reduction.”
She had the £5,000 treatment at the London Clinic.
She was a star. She can see how much happier I am now and is really happy that Mummy’s happy
Gail on her daughter Honey’s reaction
Gail said: “At my first appointment Paul Harris, the consultant, said, ‘Take your bra off and I’ll have a look’.
“My boobs popped down and slapped on to my stomach. He must have been quite shocked but he was so professional.
“He told me they were completely out of proportion with my body and he could tell they were causing me pain.”
Gail went into surgery on July 22. She said: “I was very nervous but ready to get it done.
“I was babbling to the anaesthetist until I was out cold. When I woke up I was a bit dazed and confused. It was all a bit painful and the anaesthetic was wearing off, so I cried a little bit.
“I was too scared to look. But when I went to the bathroom I felt so light.
“I left hospital after a day. It wasn’t until I got home that life just seemed so much better.
“It was very painful at first but now it’s not bad at all.
“There’s a bit of bruising and scarring but it’s already gone down so much.”
Daughter Honey, 14, was a big support, on hand to help and make cups of tea. Gail said: “She was a star. She can see how much happier I am now and is really happy that Mummy’s happy.”
Gail’s new, perky breasts have given her a renewed confidence.
She said: “My life has totally changed. My confidence has soared and my exercise regime is so much easier without the extra 8lb of flesh.
“My posture is totally different, I am not ashamed to sit upright. I can find clothes that fit and my body is in proportion.
“When I was pregnant, I couldn’t get a bra to fit and with my depression I was scared I was being made fun of, so I would not leave the house.
“Now I’m walking down the street full of confidence. I used to be permanently embarrassed about my boobs and had this hunched posture.”
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As Gail tries on clothes for our photoshoot, she is taken with the range of outfits she is now able to carry off. She said: “It’s just amazing that I can wear pretty clothes. I’ve bought my first bikini in more than 20 years.”
Single Gail has also got a new, positive outlook when it comes to her love life.
She admitted with a giggle: “I winked at a man on the street the other day.
“I’m not ashamed of my body any more and it’s incredibly liberating.
“I’d had a lifetime of men talking to my breasts rather than my face. Now they look me in the eye.”
Gail added: “I’m in a better place now than I have been in ages. I’m really happy.
“I’ve been concentrating on my health and I’m trying to become a personal trainer.
“I’m starting a podcast soon on acast.com and also doing bits of stand-up.” Viewers with a strong stomach will be able to watch Gail go through her body transformation on Celebrity Botched Up Bodies on Channel 5 next week.
She said: “I wanted to share my experiences with other women who may be afraid or had reservations about surgery to relieve pain.
“It certainly wasn’t all cosmetic for me.
“My main reasons for wanting a breast reduction were to relieve my back pain and rid me of a lot of embarrassment and shame I felt when out and about.
“It was scary, it was painful. But I feel 20 years younger.
“It was worth every bit of the fear and worry and I should have done it years ago.”
Now feeling fit and healthy once again, and with a sunny new outlook on life, less is clearly so much more for Gail.
The new series of Celebrity Botched Up Bodies begins next Thursday at 10pm on Channel 5.