Gail Porter reveals how she was homeless for a year and lives off marmite on toast after declaring bankruptcy
The former pin-up girl speaks about racking up estimated 'six-figure' sum in tax arrears after losing work 'due to alopecia'
GAIL PORTER has revealed how she slept rough on a park bench after money woes left her out on the streets.
The troubled former TV host — who in the Nineties presented hit shows such as Top Of The Pops and Fully Booked — told of her “devastation” at being declared bankrupt last week after living on just £200 a month.
Gail, 45, said: “My money problems have just snowballed and I’ve had nowhere to turn.
“No one knew. I was too embarrassed to tell anyone I was homeless. I had nowhere to go, so I spent a couple of nights outdoors.”
In a shocking exclusive interview, Gail reveals how she:
- LIVES on a diet of Marmite on toast
- RACKED up an estimated “six-figure” sum in tax arrears.
- BLAMES her dwindling work on her alopecia, and
- STRUGGLES to pay the rent on her modest one-bedroom flat.
Mum-of-one Gail recalled: “I was on a bench on Hampstead Heath with a rug and rucksack. It was cold and terrifying. I covered my face so no one could see me.
“Those were the scariest nights of my life. There were lots of terrifying noises. I had no idea what they were. I was freezing and I didn’t know who was coming for me.
“I barely slept a wink. I was scared of being killed or raped.
“But just as bad was the shame I felt for being there.
“I woke up happy to be alive. It was a tough time but it made me stronger. I’ve barely told anyone about it because I’m so ashamed.”
Gail, whose bankruptcy was confirmed last week at London’s High Court, found TV fame 16 years ago hosting Channel 4’s The Big Breakfast and reporting for travel show Wish You Were Here.
The ex-model seemed to lead a charmed life and in 2001 got married and bought a flat in London’s posh Belsize Park.
She says: “For around a decade, work was relatively easy to come by. I seemed to always be busy.
“Money wasn’t an issue. I never squandered cash but spent it on my family and friends.
“I wasn’t the sort to buy posh bags and shoes.
“I took my mum on holiday to Barbados and on weekend trips to places like Barcelona.
“I never blew money on expensive restaurants. All my friends were normal people, so I never lost perspective.”
But a series of blows sent Gail’s life spiralling out of control. In 2005 she divorced. She then lost her blonde locks to alopecia.
She says: “Losing my hair was a big thing. I was OK with it and people around me would say it was fine but people stopped booking me for TV work.
“The jobs that were coming so freely during the Nineties weren’t there for me any more. By then I was renting a place and my savings started to dribble away.”
On top of it, Gail was battling depression and anorexia.
In 2007 she was sectioned, with her then-boyfriend Jonny Davies, a singer 14 years Gail’s junior, fearing she would harm herself.
She spent 28 days in the psychiatric ward of London’s Royal Free Hospital.
Gail says: “While I was sectioned, things were going pear-shaped financially for me at home.
“I wasn’t there to pay rent. I had no money. It was a vicious circle.
“After being sectioned, people in TV looked at me differently. I was kind of shunned for a while. The bills got bigger and bigger.
“I put letters that looked tax-related in a pile out of sight. I couldn’t bring myself to open most of them. I still haven’t.
"It was stupid, I know. It felt like I was drowning in debt. I kept running away from most of it and the snowball got bigger and bigger.”
In 2014, Gail hit rock bottom.
She says: “I couldn’t afford the rent so I ended up homeless for almost a year.
“I stored my belongings at a friend’s house and moved from spare bedrooms to sofas.
“I didn’t tell any of my friends that I didn’t actually have a place of my own.”
Gail picked up “£100 or £200 a couple of times a month” on shows such as Channel 5’s The Wright Stuff. But it was not enough.
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That September, she ran out of friends to stay with.
She says: “It was humiliating. I thought, ‘How have I got to this?’
“I had no phone to call anyone, just a rug and some clothes in a bag. I found a bench on Hampstead Heath in London and made my bed for two nights.”
Back in the 1990s Gail was a lads’ mag favourite and graced the covers of Loaded and FHM.
A 1999 magazine stunt, in which a 100ft-tall image of her naked body was projected on to the Houses of Parliament, turned her into a household name.
Nearly two decades later and desperate for cash, Gail agreed to appear on Celebrity Big Brother.
She says: “It was in 2015 and I used the fee to pay for the deposit and six months’ advance rent on my one-bed flat. But that didn’t last long and I’m still in the same situation.
“I could claim benefits but I feel too proud. I want to get work.
“I’m always asking friends in different industries. I say, ‘I’ll make tea’ and they think I’m joking.
“My dream job would be as an auxiliary nurse or in a book shop. I went to a local book shop and asked about a job. They kind of laughed at me, saying they had enough staff.
Last week Gail got an email from the Insolvency Service saying she had been served with a bankruptcy order. It is estimated she owes “a six-figure amount” in tax arrears.
She has not been able to confirm an exact figure while she waits for an official response.
She says: “It was a shock but I knew it had been getting on top of me. I’m going to take it on the chin.”
Gail is now paying the £1,000-a- month rent on her one-bedroom flat in Willesden Green, North West London with any work she can get and is living off just £200 a month.
She says: “Mainly I eat Marmite on toast, as it’s cheap. As a treat, I’ll have cod fillets, which I get for £1.99 for six from Iceland, and some tomatoes.
“My dad had to help me with my rent last month. I’m living week to week.”
Gail points out during the interview that she is wearing £2 tights from Sainsbury’s, a Primark T-shirt and £10 Topshop dungarees.
She adds: “I haven’t been clothes shopping for years. I’m still wearing the stuff I had a decade ago.
“Being bankrupt is embarrassing but I’ll deal with it.
“I want to work so much and I’m writing an autobiography — I have to stay positive.
“Just this week, my daughter said to me, ‘It doesn’t matter how much money you’ve got, I love you to bits regardless’. That is the most important thing.”