From chasing ghosts to charity work with Prince William, Gail Porter opens up on life in the spotlight

By Cheryl Caira

Things that go bump in the night. That’s the topic of the hour as Gail Porter and I blether away about whether we believe in the supernatural – and the fact her cat potentially has a sixth sense.

“Every house I’ve been in, something has happened’” she says. “In my last flat, I heard this bang. My vase was on the floor, but the flowers were laid out on the table. The cat was going insane – it was 2am, the witching hour. When my daughter Honey stays with me, she says it’s like something has followed me and got attached. I’m fine with that idea, until I’m watching Psycho and all the lights suddenly go out.”

Porter is hilarious company, a brilliant raconteur and someone who displays resilience while still wearing her heart on her sleeve. Being haunted by your own demons is a topic Porter is tackling in her Edinburgh Fringe show, Portergeist – her second stage performance at the world’s biggest arts festival. 

A darling of the ’90s and former model who presented kids TV shows before landing a gig on the holy grail of music programmes – Top of the Pops – Porter’s career took her on the road in America as a “curious skeptic” in the Dead Famous series. Alongside medium Chris Fleming, she ventured into the darkest corners of supposedly haunted locations – seeking out the unfinished business of dead celebrities such as Jim Morrison and Marilyn Monroe. 

“When I first started doing the programme, I thought I was ridiculous. I was with sidekicks that were getting possessed all the time, but they were only getting possessed by famous people of course. Then you start to feel a different energy in some locations – there are places I would never, ever go back to – that includes the Vaults in Edinburgh.”

Credit: Michelle Fredericks

Portergeist touches on her time as a bonafide ghosthunter, but also some of the most painful moments of her life. “I thought there were some fun things to be said about these American psychic programmes, but I also talk about the loss of my parents, and being stoic through bad times. If anyone ever upsets me in London, I think count to 10 – you’re Scottish, you’ve got this.

“My daughter will say to me, you’ve been single for a very long time. Then I’m talking about ghost buses, witch shops and hanging around graveyards and she’s like: yeah – you’re going to be on your own forever.”

Stand-up takes some bravery if you’re fairly new to it – it’s an exposed artform that involves putting all your vulnerabilities out there. Is she feeling a bit wobbly-legged about this upcoming stint?

“I’m waking up with sweats in the middle of the night – I go from thinking it’s a great idea to a terrible one. Although I enjoyed doing the show in 2023, I was a bit more emotional thinking: ‘Don’t be mean to me!’  Whereas this time, if anyone gives me any grief, I’ll just tell them to go if they don’t want to be there.”

Does she have any strategies for surviving the festival gauntlet as a performer? “I’m going to try and eat healthily rather than buying slices of pizza for a tenner. I’ll also try not to organise loads of nights out after my show. I have this idea: I’ll run around Arthur’s Seat every day, then you get halfway up and think: ‘This is a stupid idea. There are no Ubers up here, and I’m too old.’”

Working alongside the Prince of Wales on the Homewards project

There are some poignant reflections in the show – including on the 28 days Porter was sectioned in a London psychiatric hospital, following a period of terrible depression in 2011, and a time in 2014 where she found herself homeless. Unthinkable after being one of the well-known faces of the era, Porter spent time sofa surfing and slept rough in the capital’s Hampstead Heath.

An activist that’s worked with homeless charities ever since, the 55-year-old has been non-stop of late due to her work with Homewards, a project set up by the Prince of Wales in 2023. Its aim is to prevent homelessness in six flagship locations across the UK, and Porter received a letter from the palace inviting her to meet the Prince and discuss her own experiences. She’s now a Homewards advocate.

“Prince William is absolutely adorable. He’s very personable, and really listens to people. We had a Homewards dinner event in Scotland with lots of volunteers, and I had a spare seat next to me. Prince William walked over, gave me a hug and asked, ‘Is it OK if I join you, ladies?’ He walked round every table speaking to the volunteers, asking what he could do better and what they needed. 

“Last time I saw him I said, ‘I’m going into Soho for a wee afternoon boogie. Do you want to come?” He went, ‘Thanks, but I probably don’t think I’d get away with it.’”

Since developing alopecia totalis in 2005, Porter has become the UK’s – and perhaps the world’s – most prominent and influential spokesperson on breaking the stigma around the condition. She also became an ambassador for the Little Princess Trust, a charity supporting children experiencing hair loss. After years of advocacy work, has her relationship with her own appearance evolved? 

“When my hair fell out, I’d never heard of alopecia. I didn’t know what was happening. I was out looking for Frank Sinatra’s ghost in a Vegas graveyard, as you do, then all these clumps started falling out. That long hair that I had in the ’90s… four weeks later, it was completely gone, and I had the paparazzi and the tabloids waiting outside my house.

“There was just no support, and I was pretty down for a while. But I thought: ‘I’m just gonna have to deal with this.’ The way people took it was very weird at first, but now they’re just used to it. I’m glad I didn’t wear wigs at the beginning, but now I love them – and I’ll happily go out with or without them.”

Porter has been working on a book for the last decade – the final draft is finished and sent across to a major publisher. “There were other publishers that wanted more celebrities in it, but it’s more ‘one flew over the cuckoo’s nest’; about when I got sectioned and lost my home. It’s nothing to do with fame. I really appreciated everything from that time [of peak fame] though – it was great fun and the best thing was sharing it with my friends and family.” 

See Gail Porter: Portergeist at Assembly Rooms from 6th-30th August