Gail Porter reveals dad Bill has died saying ‘hard but he had a great life’
GAIL Porter has revealed her dad has died in a heartbreaking tribute saying he had a “great life”. The 49-year-old tweeted to say dad Bill had passed away after a BBC documentary about her mental health struggles was aired again last night. Twitter Gail wrote: “Since that documentary, my father passed away, I had him […]
GAIL Porter has revealed her dad has died in a heartbreaking tribute saying he had a “great life”.
The 49-year-old tweeted to say dad Bill had passed away after a BBC documentary about her mental health struggles was aired again last night.
Gail wrote: “Since that documentary, my father passed away, I had him in his wee cremated box by me while I watched. Hard but he had a great life xxx.”
The presenter did not give any further details about the tragedy but told worried fans she was feeling “totally fine” but appreciated their kind words.
She added: “Thank you for always tweeting and being lovely. Kindness is all we need.”
Documentary Being Gail Porter explored the star’s spiral into depression and homelessness and first aired in January.
The troubled former TV host — who in the Nineties presented hit shows such as Top Of The Pops and Fully Booked — was declared bankrupt in 2017 after living on just £200 a month.
Her dad helped her get back on her feet by paying her rent in a one-bedroom flat.
MENTAL HEALTH BATTLE
He previously told her he believed she developed mental health problems because she moved to London from Scotland.
Gail has suffered post-natal depression and bipolar disorder and was sectioned under the Mental Health Act in 2011.
Speaking to Lorraine about filming the documentary, she said: “It was much more tricky than I thought it was going to be… I learnt a lot and I felt better. I’m trying to get through emails and tweets and Instagram messages… there are just so many people it seems to have helped.
“I have seen it once when I was doing the voiceover for it. And I did find it quite tricky. So I had to disappear a little bit and come back in and deal with it… I do cry an awful lot.”
Gail was a presenter on Top Of The Pops, The Movie Chart Show, Live & Kicking and Gail Porter’s Big 90s for VH1.
She also modelled for magazines such as FHM and in 1999, a nude photograph of her was famously projected on to the Houses Of Parliament in a bid for MPs to vote for her in the FHM Sexiest Women poll.
The star began to lose her hair in 2005 as a result of the condition alopecia.
After her divorce from Dan Hipgrave, Gail suffered from depression and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
In 2007 she was sectioned and her then-boyfriend Johnny Davies fearing she would harm herself.
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Then in 2014, due to a lack of work and financial difficulties she became homeless and was forced to sleep rough.
She said: “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.”
