Gail Porter set to launch stand-up career in Edinburgh with series of comedy ... trends now

Gail Porter is to headline a series of stand-up comedy shows dealing with her alopecia, mental health struggles and being homeless.

The Scottish TV presenter, 52, will launch her stand-up career at the Edinburgh Assembly Rooms from August 2-28 as well as shows around the UK.

Her routine will talk about how she went from being a children's TV presenter to posing nude and seeing her naked image beamed onto the Houses of Parliament to being sectioned, diagnosed as bipolar and sleeping rough.

The former Top of the Pops and Big Breakfast host, once listed by FHM among the world's sexiest women, said: 'I'm super-excited to be coming to Edinburgh. I'll be doing stand-up seven-nights-a-week. 

'I don't know if it's a mid-life thing or whatever but I got offered it and I thought, why not?

'I'll be doing a few little gigs around the country to trial the material before that. I've always wanted to do it and I've been writing a lot.'

She continued: 'I think when you have gone through pretty tough times and you can turn it into humour, other people can relate. 'The material will be about my life.

'I take things that happened that were pretty bad and talk about it in a way that is pretty funny and that I hope can help people.'

Ms Porter was married to Toploader guitarist Dan Hipgrave, with whom she has a daughter Honey, 19.

The couple separated in 2004 and divorced in 2006 and things started to spiral out of control after their break-up, with Gail ending up homeless.

A year after the breakup, Ms Porter lost her hair to scalp condition alopecia and because she would not wear a wig for television appearances, work dried up. 

At the same time, Gail was struggling with the split and found out that her mother had cancer. 

In 2007, Ms Porter wrote about her hair loss story in an autobiography, Laid Bare: My Story of Love, Fame and Survival.

Then in 2011, she was sectioned and diagnosed as bipolar after her boyfriend at the time Johnny Davies expressed concerns for her welfare.

Sadly, in 2014, she became homeless and slept rough for a year because she could not afford to pay the bills or her rent as she was not working.

Gail slept on park benches on Hampstead Heath but she did not ask for help because she was embarrassed. 

She did eventually reach out to her family and friends for support and went on Celebrity Big Brother in 2015, managing to use the fee for a flat deposit. 

Describing it as a scary time, she explained that she refused to give up and that as a Scottish person, she is 'tough as old boots.'