X Factor and I’m A Celebrity star Jake Quickenden undergoes £5,000 hair transplant after ‘years of anxiety and paranoia’
JAKE QUICKENDEN has had his share of hairy moments facing the X Factor judges and doing bushtucker trials on I’m A Celeb.
But the singer’s biggest fear is of being let down by his follicles . . . and going bald before he’s 30.
I can tell you Jake has now taken drastic steps to ensure his famous quiff is still standing when he ties the knot with girlfriend Danielle Fogarty.
Earlier this week he had a £5,000 hair transplant.
In an exclusive chat with me about how years of anxiety and paranoia about his thinning hair drove him to have the treatment, the 28 year old said: “I was terrified that I’d look like Phil Mitchell.
“I’ve got a hairline like Dracula with two triangles at the front. It has been in my mind for five years.
“Even when I was on X Factor it used to take me so long to get ready because I’d think it was showing.
“I was so paranoid about it, I started buying sprays for my scalp to make it dark so you couldn’t tell.
Jake was given local anaesthetic before balding-resistant hair follicles from the back of his head were moved to the front"Even now, getting ready can take me an hour trying to make sure it’s covered up.
“I’ve been using Regaine Foam for the past two years. That’s cost me loads — a year’s worth of foam and tablets are £180, and I’d spend the same on the Regaine Solution, too.
“If I was going out and I didn’t have my spray on me I’d get really paranoid that someone was going to say, ‘God, you’re going bald’. This had to be done — I want to get married with hair.”
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On Monday, Jake was given local anaesthetic before hair follicles from the back of his head, which are resistant to balding, were moved to the front,
The procedure, which took several hours, was carried out by Simon Lindsay of KSL Hair in Glasgow.
Jake was told the treatment had been successful as he recovered in his bandages.
The clinic has previously performed the same procedure to cover the balding bonces of MIKE HASSINI from Towie, footballers JOE LEDLEY and LEIGH GRIFFITHS, and All Black rugby player XAVIER RUSH.
Jake has been dating Danielle, the daughter of motorcycling legend CARL FOGARTY, since 2014 when he came runner-up to her dad in the I’m A Celeb jungle.
He admits that Danielle thinks he’s crazy to have had the treatment while still sporting a healthy mop.
Jake said: “She says my hair looks absolutely fine, she thinks I’m mad. But she understands if it makes me more confident then go for it.”
He wants them to look good when they get married, even though they are yet to get officially engaged.
Jake said: “There isn’t a date for the wedding yet, but this is why I’m sorting this out now because if it’s in the next couple of years I’m really paranoid for that wedding day.”
Now when the big day does come at least he can let his hair down.
Chris to try new haunts
LOVE Islander CHRIS HUGHES has bagged his next TV role – on 5STAR’s show Celebrity Ghost Hunt Live.
Chris will join Geordie Shore’s CHARLOTTE CROSBY and Celebrity Big Brother winner STEPHEN BEAR in the series, hosted by This Morning’s RYLAN CLARK-NEAL.
The opening episode, to be shown next month, will see the trio take part in a séance at Essex’s Harwich Fort, which is said to be haunted by a headless soldier.
A TV source said: “Chris is going to be hysterical. He was easily the most scared out of the contestants on Love Island.
“The slightest sudden movement of something on the show and he would jump out of his skin.
“Imagine what he’s going to be like with ghosts.”
The series, produced by GooWoo Media, will also feature Ex On The Beach cast member Charlotte Dawson and Real Housewives of Cheshire’s Ampika Pickston.
Good luck, Chris.
SOAPBOX
THERE’s a pregnancy scare in HOLLYOAKS as Neeta needs the morning-after pill due to a reckless moment of passion with student Hunter.
He tries to convince her to run away with him to Ibiza, but Neeta knows it’s not the right thing to do and can’t leave her responsibilities back home.
Meanwhile, Cindy is in the depths of a manic episode after lying about getting her medication.
She is encouraged to speak to a doctor with Dirk, Holly and Alfie’s support.
Over on my favourite soap HOME AND AWAY, Justin lives to regret accusing Scarlett of having a secret son when she slaps him across the face.