Heat magazine - The Gail Porter Interview

GAIL PORTER LIES ON HER stomach on a brown corduroy sofa in a photographic studio in north London. With her size four feet flapping in the air, she takes up barely half the seat! Stopping only to take sips from a regularly refilled mug of coffee - and to take the occasional breath - she makes herself comfy and talks.

In the last four of her 29 years, Gail Porter has become one of the most familiar faces on TV. As recognisable as the Adidas shell-toed trainers she collects, she's gone from being just "another children's TV presenter" on Sunday morning fun-fest Fully Booked to being all over our screens, newspapers, even our national monuments, thanks to a well- publicised stunt by one of the lad mags she appeared in as a clothes-lite regular.

Now, though, the diminutive Ms Porter is fully dressed and in full flow. If talking were eligible for Olympic status, Scotland would have a new sporting hero. Her stream-of- consciousness style of conversation means she can ask a question and answer it herself before you've opened your mouth. Asked to name her favourite film, Porter lists 15 without pause. Over the next hour heat discovers Gail's views on Princess Leia, the Foo Fighters, boys, America, shoes, journalists, booze, vegetables, cats, bottle banks, toys, gyms, martial arts, her family, music, fame and tattoos. But first things first...

We've been told not to ask about this, but what the hell: do you regret the whole naked thing ?
No, why should I regret it ? There's no point in having regrets about anything, it's done.

Did it end your career as a children's TV presenter?
I had quit children's TV four months before I did it. I enjoyed doing kids, but I wanted to move on and I did. I did the shots, they got projected onto Big Ben, which I had no control over, but it happened. My arse, Big Ben, quite funny. I don't know... it was funny. When I'm 50 I'll be, "That was my arse on Big Ben." Life's too short to worry, it really is. People are just obsessed by the strangest things.

You've said you always wanted to be famous. Are you happy now that you are ?
Yeah, I think I am happy. I'm always happy. It's weird. I was in Tesco the other day and someone said "My God, Gail Porter in Tesco's," and I though! "Well, where do you think I'm going to do my shopping?" And they were having a look in my basket to see what I bought.

Is being famous all you thought it would be?
Yeah, kinda. Some days you want to go and get yourself something from the shops but you feel like shit and you look like shit, and you want to be able to walk outside without people saying, "Oh, doesn't she look like shit!" But you get used to it.

You were like the fifth AII Saint for a while, always out at parties and in the papers...
I've only done about six parties. I don't really do celeb parties. When I do go out, there are pictures everywhere: people are like: "She's out!" I'm not very good at parties, unless I'm with my mates somewhere local. Local pub, pub quiz, darts. I love darts! But I get a bit paranoid at parties. I miss my mates. I'm doing Wish You Were Here at the moment so I'm out of the country every three weeks. So when I'm here, my main priority is my mates, not a showbiz party where I'm not going to know anyone.

In your lowest moments, how do you think the public view you ?
So long as you've got your friends about you, and a good positive attitude, you don't really have to care what everyone else thinks. Obviously everyone likes to be liked and if you're not, it's not a nice feeling. but you can't get up in the morning and think like that, because you'd go nuts, wouldn't you? You've got to put the Foo Fighters on and dance. That's what I do. Foo Fighters. Every morning. Full blast. Dance about the front room, then have a shower.

What's the most glamorous, showbizzy thing you've done ?
Every day I do something that freaks me out. But my most "glamorous" is probably last week when I went for a drink with Noddy Holder. They were really busy in the bar so I went and served him. It's my local so they don't mind. But I ended up stuck there for ages pulling everyone's pints, but I'm a bit too short so they had to get me a little stool so I could reach the spirits. So to me that was pretty glamorous because Noddy's very cool.

That's not terribly glam.
Ooh no, but the weirdest thing was someone phoning me up saying, "What are you doing at the weekend because we want you to go and interview Robert De Niro in Paris." I went, "Hold on two secs," put the phone down, went "FUCK!," picked the phone up and said, "Do you know, I think I'm free." So I took my mate with me, got on the Eurostar, had a couple of glasses of champagne because I was so nervous, got off in Paris, interviewed Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal and I came out thinking, "Weird. Very weird."

Have you had any "Oh my God" moments presenting Top Of The Pops?
Blur came in once and I hid from Damon in the toilets because I was a bit of a fan. I had to keep sending people out to see if he'd gone past. "Have they gone? Yeah they've gone. Cool." I've not met the Foo Fighters though. I'm totally obsessed with Dave Grohl.

In a "great singer" way, or a "I want to marry you" way ?
I think he's gorgeous, he's fantastic. Very funny. He's great in the videos...

You've been signed up to do a film next year, and you're filming David Baddiel's new sitcom at the moment. Is acting your next thing?
If it happens it happens, but I've not got any strategic game plan. But hey, if all these Hollywood offers come in I'm off. Nab, I wouldn't live in LA, that's nuts. It's a bit false, you can't walk anywhere. But I love New York. I used to set my alarm clock when I was there, and get up at 4am and get a coffee, just because I could. But apparently if you know where to go in LA it's a great place so maybe I've not been to the right places. [A rare pause] I'll have to go to the right places. I'll go back. Not tomorrow though, because I'm busy.

Have you ever thought of putting out a single ?
You must be joking. No way, I'd never subject anyone to that. No, no, no. I can't sing to save my life.

What's with your fascination with children's toys ?
I love toys. I live on my own so it's really good if they talk. I've got loads of toys that are light activated, so you come in on a Friday night and they start chattering away to you.

Doesn't that drive you mad ?
No more potty than I am normally. I've just got an interactive Yoda. What a laugh! You turn it upside down and it goes [in bizarre Scottish Yoda voice] "Upside down I am, upside down are you." He's brilliant, but he doesn't shut up. You put him in the corner and go off to make a cup of tea and he's still going, "You are not playing with me, bored I am," and I'm like, "Yeah, yeah, I can't be a Jedi Knight now, I need a coffee."

You really like Star Wars, huh ?
Mmm, I love Yoda. I didn't like Jar Jar Binks though, he was all wrong.

True. Now, men.
Yeah, can we get this right ? I buy heat every week, and apparently I've been On, Off, On, Off. Keith Flint [from the Prodigy] and I finished in January, and that's it. I've not seen anyone since January.

So what happened with Keith ?
We split up.

Something he did, or something you did?
No, mutual. We split up.

How did you meet ?
Sara Cox said, "You've got to meet Keith, he's a really nice guy and I think you'd get on really well." And we went on a blind date to Leeroy's birthday party [fellow Prodigy member and Cox's former fiance, Leeroy Thornhill]. He phoned me up and said "Do you want to go with me?" and I said "Yeah, cool." He's an absolute gem of a bloke.

Not scary then ?
No, not in the slightest. He's an absolute diamond. Haven't got a bad word to say about him.

What's his hair like in the morning?
Looks just the same in the morning as it does at night. He's very cool. We were together for about six months. Longest relationship I've had, I think. Well done me.

Was it love?
Yeah. [pause] Next question.

Are you courting now ?
No, no one since Keith, so that's, what month are we in now, that's... bloody hell, that's ages. But I'm on a mission at the moment. A man hunt.

So what are we looking for ?
No idea. You know when you find it. Anyone who makes me laugh - it doesn't matter what they look like. I know people say that, but it's true. If you asked me my wish-list it'd be a bizarre thing.

Go on then. Top three.
Can't give you top three, maybe top I5. Dave Grohl, good tattoos. Peter Kay, Eddie Izzard - I think he's beautiful. Fran from Travis. He's just lovely. He met my mum at TFI Friday, and couldn't have been nicer to her. Tell you who's cute, that bloke off Big Brother who gave away all the money. What a nice gesture. But apparently he's getting married. They're all taken. I liked Big Brother, but Nick gave me the creeps.

What's the story behind the fight between Goldie's cousin and Finley Quaye at the X-Men premiere?
I was so drunk I've no idea. One minute I'm talking to him [Finley], I go to the toilet and the next thing I know there's a big old barney, and apparently it's my fault. To this day I've no idea what happened. It's because I don't go out, you see. I go out, cause a ruckus and it's all over the papers.

How long had you known Finley?
I met him that night. He's from Edinburgh same as me, so we were just chatting. Unfortunately, because we're "celebs", it gets in the papers. That's why I stay in, me and Yoda.

Wasn't it Star Wars that started you off on your chosen career path?
Yeah. I bubbled my eyes out at the end of it, I was devastated.

"Bubbled"?
It's Scottish for crying. Anyway, I didn't want to go back to the real world, because I decided that I was going to live with Luke and Leia and Han Solo. I was seven years old. Didn't want to go back to the real world at all, I wanted to live on the Millennium Falcon. After that I created this little bubble in my head and I moved in.

Are you still there ?
Oh yeah! You can't live in the real world, that's bonkers, isn't it?

And your world isn't bonkers ?
No, it's fun.

Gait Porter presents the Blockbuster Movie Chart Show, Channel 5, Wednesdays at 7pm and Sundays at 1l.30am