Gail Porter Reveals She Slept Rough After Spending A Year Homeless Due To Money Woes

Gail Porter has revealed she was left sleeping on a park bench, after money troubles made her homeless. 

The TV presenter told of how she spent a year without a place to call her own, as mounting debt meant she was unable to afford to pay rent. 

In an interview with The Sun, Gail admitted she spent some nights sleeping rough in 2014, after running out of friends’ sofas to crash on. 

“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,” she said. 

“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. I barely slept a wink. I was scared of being killed or raped.”

While the former ‘Fully Booked’ and ‘Top Of The Pops’ presenter is now renting a modest one-bedroom flat in London, she recently declared herself bankrupt, owing “a fix-figure sum” in tax arrears. 

As a result, Gail is living off just £200 a week having struggled to find TV work, which she blames on losing her hair to alopecia in 2005. 

“My money problems have just snowballed and I’ve had nowhere to turn,” she said. 

“I get my daughter Honey three days a week and she is my priority. I save most of that £200 so I can buy food for her. I won’t eat some days to save that money.

“Mainly I eat Marmite on toast, as it’s cheap. As a treat, I’ll have cod fillets, which I get for £1.99 for six from Iceland, and some tomatoes.”

She added: “My dad had to help me with my rent last month. I’m living week to week.”

Gail, who has been vocal about her struggles with depression and bipolar disorder, appeared on the 2015 summer series of ‘Celebrity Big Brother’, but later hit out at the series, describing it as “the worst thing ever”.

She told the Daily Mail: “And I should know, I’ve been sectioned under the Mental Health Act.”

• To help a rough sleeper call 0300 500 0914 or visit Streetlink