Gail Porter has spoken about the shocking moment she discovered a photograph of her naked body had been projected onto the Houses of Parliament without her consent.
The former Top Of The Pops and The Big Breakfast presenter, 53, was one of the most popular TV stars in the 1990s and as a result posed for several men’s magazines, including Loaded.
But in 1999, her nude photo shoot was screened in the Houses of Parliament without her consent, as a publicity stunt for FHM’s “sexiest woman”.
In the BBC Two documentary Loaded: Lads, Mags and Mayhem, which airs tonight and is available on BBC iPlayer, Gail revealed she “felt a bit stupid… a bit disappointed”.
Speaking about the incident, he revealed that he was never paid for the shoot and didn’t know about the stunt until he found photographers and journalists outside his house and his name was mentioned on BBC News.
She recalled: ‘It was May 9, 1999. I got up in the morning and was in the bathroom. I was brushing my teeth and BBC News was on in the front room, and I heard my name and thought, “BBC News?” They are quite sensible. Why are they talking about me?”
“And then I looked out the window of my house and there were journalists and photographers outside the house and I thought, ‘Oh, shit.'” I went straight to the front room and saw this picture.
‘I felt a little stupid, a little disappointed. Well, a little disappointing, that this was a big PR stunt for a magazine, and the only person who wasn’t informed was the image of the person they used, which was me.
Gail Porter (pictured in BBC Two documentary) has spoken about the shocking moment she discovered a photograph of her naked body had been projected onto the Houses of Parliament without her consent.
‘I think it was one of the best-selling FHMs of all time. They just used me as a pawn in their game. I was new to the industry and when they said they weren’t going to pay me, I just assumed they wouldn’t pay anyone. I guess I was an easy target.
“It would have been nice to give my consent, because I would most likely have said no,” the TV star insisted.
He added: “Even walking down the street, a lot of people were pointing at you and sort of, you know, making sure you knew they’d seen you naked.”
‘I’m also a people pleaser, well I definitely was in the ’90s. That’s what I was good at, talking about my butt on FHM. I let people take advantage and I shouldn’t have.
Elsewhere in the documentary, Gail revealed how she initially felt about participating in magazine shoots, describing them as “like being in a movie.”
She said: ’90s TV was just fun. No one was worried about being OTT… Of course, if you’re on TV, suddenly people pay attention to you.
“This was all new to me, and our local press, in Scotland, was saying, ‘Oh, little Gail from Joppa, she’s done so well, we’re so proud of her.’ Suddenly you’ve got the world at your feet. I was having fun
‘Loaded, I think I only did one session for them. I mean, they were pretty nice when I arrived, but they managed to get all the clothes in the wrong size and said, “Oh, that doesn’t fit. Oh, that doesn’t fit. Oh, that doesn’t fit.” “It doesn’t fit.” Maybe you should use a sheet.
The former Top Of The Pops and The Big Breakfast presenter (pictured in 1999), 53, was one of the most popular TV stars in the 1990s and as a result posed for a number of men’s magazines, including Loaded.
Back then: The TV presenter, now 52, said she was not paid for any of her photo shoots (pictured in 1999)
‘When they asked me to do FHM, they wanted me naked. I called my grandmother and said, “Oh, they want to take a picture of my ass.”
“And she was like… “Oh, I remember back then we had pictures of Marilyn Monroe, and we had these pictures, and everything was so pretty. Oh, do whatever you want.”
And I said, “Yeah, okay, then.” Good enough for grandma, it was good enough for me. I was a little… nervous.
“But then, because everyone else seemed to be playing with my hair and making sure, you know, that I had a fake tan on my back, and my mom was there and there were wind machines going, and it was pretty exciting.
I was finishing everything. It was like… It was like being in a movie. It was just fun. It was a fantasy. “I felt quite empowered.”
In her heyday, Gail was arguably one of the most recognizable television presenters, but she has said that her undeniable popularity did not make her rich.
The Scottish star became a household name thanks to his regular appearances on The Big Breakfast, The Movie Chart Show, VH1 and BBC music show Top Of The Pops.
But the former pin-up has previously insisted she earned little money during the early years of her career, citing the amount she received per episode on Top Of The Pops as one of her lowest earnings.
She told The Telegraph: “I think £500, and then you have 20 per cent for your agent, then you have to pay the rent.” All the magazine covers, but I never got paid for any of them.
The Scottish star became a household name thanks to his regular appearances on The Big Breakfast, The Movie Chart Show, VH1 and BBC music show Top Of The Pops.
Weighing up his biggest payday, Porter says a voiceover for a Sainsbury’s commercial provided him with a moderate income.
“It was a few hundred pounds a week and you can’t complain about that,” he recalled. “But other than that, I don’t remember any well-paying jobs.”
Porter previously admitted that he was not paid for his magazine work, at a time when lads’ magazines were at their commercial peak.
she said The daily star: ‘I was never paid for anything I did; I never got paid for FHM, GQ or many of the magazines I did.
‘Some of the others may have been paid, but I never was and I was quite vulnerable at the time. They said, “This will be great for your career, it will be a lot of fun, and think about the pictures you can give your kids when you’re older.”
In October this year, Gail revealed that she applied for a job at her local bookstore when she was struggling with homelessness.
The television presenter, who declared bankruptcy in 2017, had already spent six months homeless.
After completely losing her hair in 2005, Gail, who suffered from alopecia, found her job opportunities quickly fading, causing her expenses to be far greater than her income.
In October this year, Gail (pictured) revealed she asked for a job at her local bookstore when she was struggling with homelessness.
Appearing on Lorraine, Gail recalled her financial difficulties during this period as she struggled to get work in television.
She said: “I remember going to the local bookstore and asking, ‘Do you have any jobs?’ And they said, ‘Come on, you’re Gail Porter,’ and I was like, ‘No, really, can I have a job?’ “.
“I saved everything I could and I have an amazing daughter who is now 22 and the money just runs out.”
And he added: “I had lost my hair, the work was not coming, the bills were coming out.” It can make anyone happy. I never expected it would happen to me.’
Gail is now a patron of Fair Credit Charity, which alleviates financial hardship through community lending.