{"id":15327,"date":"2025-04-13T02:18:10","date_gmt":"2025-04-13T02:18:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/15327\/"},"modified":"2025-04-13T02:18:10","modified_gmt":"2025-04-13T02:18:10","slug":"gail-porter-everyone-else-shook-williams-hand-but-i-went-in-for-a-hug-now-hes-used-to-my-hugs-every-time-we-meet-remarkable-story-of-tv-stars-special-and-rather-unconventional-bond-with-p","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/15327\/","title":{"rendered":"Gail Porter: ‘Everyone else shook William’s hand, but I went in for a hug… now he’s used to my hugs every time we meet!’ Remarkable story of TV star’s special (and rather unconventional) bond with Prince William"},"content":{"rendered":"

She is the\u00a0chirpy, down-to-earth Scot who picked herself up after her television career hit rock bottom and she was beset by mental health problems, while he is the heir apparent to the British throne.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, their shared concern for the plight of the homeless<\/a> has led to the unlikeliest of friendships that ignores royal protocol and dispenses with any need to stand on ceremony.<\/p>\n

Since starting in children\u2019s television before branching out into modelling and mainstream TV in the 1990s, Gail Porter<\/a> hasn\u2019t had her troubles to seek.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She lost her hair in 2005 through alopecia, which led to her being broke and homeless for six months after job offers dried up.<\/p>\n

She also struggled with depression<\/a> and bipolar disorder and in 2011 was sectioned for 17 days.<\/p>\n

Once she was back on her feet, the Edinburgh- born presenter threw herself into charity work for the homeless \u2013 a cause that has cemented a close bond with Prince William<\/a>.<\/p>\n

She caused a stir when first meeting the royal, when instead of shaking his hand she ignored normal protocol and gave him a huge hug.<\/p>\n

The 54-year-old told The Mail on Sunday about the special bond she now shares with the Prince of Wales \u2013 a friendship that began last year when she was invited to Windsor to become an advocate for his charity, Homewards.<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The pair’s unlikely friendship\u00a0 began last year when she was invited to Windsor to become an advocate for his charity and has grown from strength to strength.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The pair have bonded over their shared concern for those suffering the plight of homelessness.<\/p>\n

\u2018It took me by surprise when I got the letter with the royal seal. My first thought was what have I done wrong?<\/p>\n

\u2018But it was signed by Prince William, and it said he\u2019d like me to come and have a chat about his Homewards idea and how he\u2019s hoping to eradicate homelessness in the next few years.\u2019<\/p>\n

Homeless charities have always been close to Gail\u2019s heart, ever since she was declared bankrupt in 2017 and was forced to sleep rough and spend six months on friends\u2019 sofas and in their spare rooms.<\/p>\n

\u2018No one knew. I was too embarrassed to tell anyone I was homeless. It can happen to anyone, but I never thought it would happen to me,\u2019 added Gail, who began her career on Children\u2019s BBC Scotland, Top of the Pops, Children in Need and The Big Breakfast<\/p>\n

Desperate to help others in the same plight, Gail had no hesitation in rising to the occasion when she received William\u2019s letter.<\/p>\n

But when she met him for the first time to discuss the charity, she was unfazed by the imposing surroundings of Windsor Castle and the presence of royal courtiers and was her usual chatty, warm self.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018Everyone else was shaking William\u2019s hand but I just went in for a hug. When my friends saw it in the papers, they said, \u201cOh my God, you didn\u2019t just do that!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018But he\u2019s just another human and now he\u2019s used to me going in for a hug every time we meet.<\/p>\n

\u2018He must have known about my background and when I was leaving, he said, \u201cIs everything all right with you now?\u201d And I said, \u201cYeah, it\u2019s all right.\u201d And he said, \u201cOkay, I\u2019m glad.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018We all need to feel we belong and that we are not nothing, and Prince William makes those connections. He really listens and is interested, and then he acts. He doesn\u2019t just nod sympathetically.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"Ms <\/p>\n

Ms Porter is known as the chirpy, down-to-earth Scot who famously struggled after her TV career hit rock bottom.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"For <\/p>\n

For Gail Porter, Prince William is ‘just another human’ and they always go in for a hug whenever they see each other.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gail was so impressed by Prince William that she readily agreed to be an advocate for Homewards.<\/p>\n

The \u00a3500,000 five-year project funded by the Royal Foundation to help homeless people find accommodation and employment is working in six locations across the UK \u2013 Aberdeen, Lambeth in London, Bournemouth, Sheffield, Northern Ireland and Newport.<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019m 100 per cent behind it because it\u2019s the most I\u2019ve seen happen about homelessness since I was homeless,\u2019 said Gail.<\/p>\n

\u2018William has a platform he can use for good, and that\u2019s what he\u2019s doing, and I think it\u2019s admirable. He\u2019s a really nice person and I genuinely believe it all comes from the heart.<\/p>\n

\u2018He talked about how his concern with the homeless went back to his mum taking him to a homeless shelter.\u2019<\/p>\n

William spoke in a recent documentary about how apprehensive he was the first time Princess Diana took him and his brother Harry to a rough sleeping shelter in London.<\/p>\n

\u2018My mother took me to The Passage. I must have been about 11, maybe ten. I\u2019d never seen anything like that before and I was a bit anxious about what to expect,\u2019 he told We Can End Homelessness on Disney+.<\/p>\n

\u2018My mother went about her usual part of making everyone feel relaxed and having a laugh and joking with everyone.<\/p>\n

\u2018I remember at the time kind of thinking, \u201cwell, if everyone\u2019s not got a home, they\u2019re all going to be really sad\u201d. But it was incredible how happy an environment it was.\u2019<\/p>\n

Since joining Homewards, Gail has warmed to William not only for his charitable efforts but because of their shared sense of humour.<\/p>\n

Last month she spent the day with William in Aberdeen to celebrate the charity providing its first housing, a one-bed flat, in the city.<\/p>\n

It was an opportunity for the 42-year-old to tease Gail.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018He\u2019s really cheeky. When he came out the car carrying a bunch of flowers for the tenant, he said \u201cHi Gail, by the way these are not for you.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Later, at a dinner, she was seated next to the prince and was given his speech to look after.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018William said, \u201cHave you had this the whole time? I hope you haven\u2019t done anything to it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

When he got up to the podium, he said, \u201cI\u2019m a bit nervous because Gail\u2019s been looking after this.\u201d And I said, \u201cI haven\u2019t done anything. Or have I?\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n

Gail recalled another occasion when William couldn\u2019t resist some banter. \u2018I was at Edinburgh Castle last year with Ian Rankin [the crime writer] to celebrate the capital\u2019s 900th anniversary and I met Charles and Camilla.<\/p>\n

\u2018The next day I said to William, \u201cI met your dad yesterday,\u201d and he said, \u201cWhat are you doing hanging around the family?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018He\u2019s just a fun guy. And he really believes in what he\u2019s doing.<\/p>\n

\u2018He takes the stick that he gets for living where he lives and then trying to help homelessness.\u2019<\/p>\n

Gail was referring to the documentary in which the prince admitted that a campaign to end homelessness led by a man with several homes can draw criticism.<\/p>\n

\u2018I come with no other agenda than desperately trying to help people who are in need,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

Gail is sure her connection with the prince will only become stronger.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s incredible the difference the charity has already made to people\u2019s lives and how many people who can pull strings have come forward, all because of William.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"She is the\u00a0chirpy, down-to-earth Scot who picked herself up after her television career hit rock bottom and she…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15328,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7708],"tags":[7709,7714,7713,92,10464,533,257,12,2832,532,2831,7710,519,7711,7712],"class_list":{"0":"post-15327","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-royals","8":"tag-british-royal-family","9":"tag-catherine","10":"tag-catherine-middleton","11":"tag-dailymail","12":"tag-gail-porter","13":"tag-kate-middleton","14":"tag-london","15":"tag-news","16":"tag-prince-of-wales","17":"tag-prince-william","18":"tag-princess-of-wales","19":"tag-royal-families","20":"tag-royal-family","21":"tag-uk-royal-family","22":"tag-william"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15327\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}