Gail Porter has been left with a painful-looking black eye after being knocked over while going down a flight of stairs at a London Tube station. The TV presenter, 55, revealed the accident after facing criticism from 'keyboard warriors' who commented on her appearance.
Accident and response
'To all you wonderful keyboard warriors that said I’m looking old, and saying something was wrong with my face…' she wrote on Instagram. 'I went to @trainspottingthemusical to support my friends that created this. Last week.. I was knocked over while going down the stairs at a London Tube Station.'
'My scars are superficial, and it’s not a problem. It was an accident, and it won’t stop me being me.'
Red carpet appearance
She had been at the opening night for Trainspotting The Musical on Wednesday, where red carpet pictures showed a visible split lip and a cap worn low to help hide the black eye. Closing her statement, Gail reminded people: 'Please… from the bottom of my heart.. don’t ever be disrespectful to anyone for how they look or how they are. Kindness is so invaluable x.'
She later posted another selfie and added: 'I’m a wee Scottish Warrior. Just always look out for each other. Simple x And good concealer!!!'
History of alopecia
The Scottish TV personality has spent much of her career standing up against criticism of her looks, having been diagnosed with alopecia in 2005. The condition causes hair loss or baldness, and Gail refused to wear wigs to raise awareness. Speaking previously about losing her hair, the ex-Celebrity Big Brother housemate told Metro that she was forced to sleep on benches when work dried up as a result of her refusal to wear a wig.
Gail found that TV shows were only interested in booking her if she would talk about 'being bald', which also came while going through her divorce from her former husband and Toploader guitarist Dan Hipgrave. As her situation worsened in the mid-00s, Gail was unable to make ends meet as she became 'more and more depressed'.
When appearing on the BBC Access All Podcast in August 2023, Gail explained that work dried up rapidly. 'It was so quick,' she said. 'I had long blonde hair, and then four weeks later I was completely bald. People didn’t want to go near me for television or anything because I looked different.'
Recent years
More recently, Gail has donned the occasional wig, unveiling a mid-length blonde wig to her followers in 2024 and has worn other hairpieces since.
