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

'Those were the scariest nights of my life.'

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. 

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Gai Porter has admitted she spent a year homeless
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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. 

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. 

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Gail has struggled to find work since losing her hair
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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”.

  • To help a rough sleeper call 0300 500 0914 or visit Streetlink
'Celebrity Big Brother': Highest Fees Ever
15. Christopher Biggins - Series 18 (2016)(01 of15)
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Paid: £150,000
Final position: Ejected, after nine days

Prior to entering the house, it was reported that Biggins would be the highest-paid of that summer's contestants, pocketing a £150,000.

However, once he was removed for a string of offensive comments, attention turned to whether he'd be paid it all.

It was later reported he pocketed just half of it, which admittedly is still not to be sniffed at.
(credit:Karwai Tang via Getty Images)
14. Vicky Entwistle - Series 12 (2013)(02 of15)
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Paid: £150,000
Final position: Sixth

Producers were keen to get former 'Coronation Street' couple Bruce Jones and Vicky Entwistle in the house, but seeing as he was a lot more willing to sign up than she was, he bagged just 10% of her fee.
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13. Perez Hilton - Series 15 (2015)(03 of15)
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Paid: £150,000
Final position: Sixth

Love him or hate him, there are few who would deny that Perez wasn't worth the money, proving to be the talking point on his series.

When 'All Stars' came knocking, though, he sent them away, claiming they couldn't afford to pay him the fee he felt he deserved.
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12. Ulrika Jonsson - Series 6 (2009)(04 of15)
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Paid: £175,000
Final position: Winner

Various outlets claimed that Ulrika earned £175K for appearing on 'CBB', later returning for 'Ultimate Big Brother' a year later.

Interestingly, she's the only housemate from the Channel 4 years to make the list of highest-paid housemates.
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11. Stephanie Pratt - Series 14 (2014)(05 of15)
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Paid: £250,000
Final position: Tenth

Admittedly, not someone we were anticipating seeing on this list, reality TV veteran Stephanie is said to have bagged a quarter of a million for her stint in 'CBB' back in 2014.
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10. Danniella Westbrook - Series 17 (2016)(06 of15)
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Paid: £250,000
Final position: Fifth

Danniella made no secret of the fact she'd fallen on hard times prior to entering the 'Celebrity Big Brother' house, and got an impressive quarter of a million for her much-awaited appearance.
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9. Janice Dickinson - Series 16 (2015)(07 of15)
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Paid: £300,000
Final position: Seventh

The highest-paid housemate of the 'UK vs. USA' series (yes, she got even more than Stevi Ritchie!), Janice was evicted just two days before the live final.
(credit:Karwai Tang via Getty Images)
8. Jonathan Cheban - Series 17 (2016)(08 of15)
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Paid: £300,000
Final position: Walked, after six days.

Former housemate Cami Li has made a rather bold claim about Cheebs' 'CBB' fee, suggesting he convinced producers to give him a "daily fee", before then walking.

She wrote in the Daily Star: "[Jonathan] played them and they weren't too happy. When will they learn?"
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7. Kellie Maloney - Series 14 (2014)(09 of15)
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Paid: £400,000
Final position: Ninth

Kellie Maloney's arrival on 'CBB' came just weeks after she came out publicly as transgender, so producers were really willing to fork out to get her on side.

At the time, her fee was reported as being the biggest in 'CBB' history, though as you can see, she's since been overtaken.
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6. Katie Hopkins - Series 15 (2015)(10 of15)
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Paid: "More than £400,000"
Final position: Second.

Alright, so we don't know the exact figures, but it was widely reported that the former 'Apprentice' candidate had what was (again, at that time) the highest 'CBB' fee ever.
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5. Katie Price - Series 15 (2015)(11 of15)
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Paid: £500,000
Final position: Winner.

Katie Hopkins' glee at her high fee didn't last long, though, as Katie Price trounced her by a full hundred grand - and she wasn't even in it all the way through!
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4. Heidi and Spencer - Series 19 (2017)(12 of15)
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Paid: $700,000 (roughly £567,000)

When Speidi first entered the house in 2013, it's fair to say they pretty much dominated the show, and while they didn't end up winning, they were at the centre of the year's main storylines.

It's no wonder, then, that producers were so keen to get them back for 'All Stars And New Stars', to the tune of more than half a million pounds.
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3. David Gest - Series 17 (2016)(13 of15)
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Paid: £600,000
Final position: Walked, after 13 days.

Even The Pricey and Speidi couldn't compete with David Gest's fee, though, as he reportedly scooped £600,000 to appear on 'CBB'.

He eventually walked due to health problems 13 days into his run, and sadly died two months after the series wrapped.
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2. Ray J - Series 19 (2017)(14 of15)
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Paid: $1 million (£809,000)

There's been much discussion that at a million dollars, Ray J's fee is the biggest in 'CBB' history. Not the case, but he's still done pretty well for himself.

The actual highest 'CBB' earners ever are...
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1. Jedward - Series 8 (2011)(15 of15)
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Paid: £1 million
Final position: Third.

Yes! Channel 5 were keen to make sure that their first 'CBB' went off with a bang, so allegedly forked out a MILLION quid - the most they've ever spent on a housemate - to get Jedward involved.

They did manage to last the whole series run, so Channel 5 got their money's worth, but Kerry Katona and Paddy Doherty were the year's runner-up and winner, respectively.
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