‘Normal?! Don’t call me normal!’ Gail Porter on stardom, sexism, anorexia – and survival

Bullied as a child, depressed as a teenager, by her 20s the TV presenter finally seemed to be living the life she had dreamed of. Then she lost everything, from her hair to her money to her mental health. Here’s how she bounced back

Gail Porter says she doesn’t do jokes in her standup comedy. It’s all about the story. And the former children’s TV and Top of the Pops presenter’s story is very dark indeed. She tells me how she introduces herself. “At the start, I say: ‘Hi, hands up who’s been sectioned.’” How do people react? “Usually nobody puts their hand up. Apart from this one woman who went: ‘Me. Seven times!’ And I was like: ‘Oh right, you win!’”

There is not much Porter hasn’t experienced in the way of horror stories: anorexia, alopecia that did for her career, serious mental health problems, homelessness and bankruptcy. If she played Bad Luck Bingo, she would be unbeatable.

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