Melanie Sykes reveals she’s ‘lost half her hair’ as she gives health update
'I've probably got half my hair at the moment.'
Melanie Sykes has shared a health update with fans as she details that she has lost half her hair in alopecia battle.
The former presenter, 54, has revealed on social media that she has been investigating some recent health issues, as she revealed that she had been triggered by ‘the industry’.
In a post on social media, she shared: ‘Hello beauties. This is a pic of me I took last week whilst in London investigating some health issues.
‘I am experiencing alopecia and heart issues due to all that has happened over the last few months. Ptsd, shock, mistreatment and malpractice. ( go to YouTube for my more recent videos),’ she added in the post.
In a 30-minute YouTube video, she explained that she had lost huge amounts of hair: ‘I’m experiencing alopecia in quite a significant way.
‘I’ve lost inches off my hairline at the back and probably got half my hair at the moment.’
She added: ‘I’ve lost an eyebrow pretty much. I’m clinging to half of one.’
The star shared images of her hair loss on social media (Picture: @msmelaniesykes)In her lengthy social media post, she also took aim at the NHS and said she felt let down by the ‘broken’ service.
‘This country must do better and get better. Our health services are utterly shocking, bar a few and rare decent humans who listen without prejudice and judgement.
‘It is a lottery who you will encounter and how that experience can play out.
She added that she is also struggling with heart issues – which she linked to work stress.
The star said her health issues were linked to her work (Picture: David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock)‘I went into the New Year with so much energy. I’ve slowed things down because I got a heart problem, which I developed during the whole Gino D’Acampo b******t that happened in the news,’ Sykes said in the YouTube video.
‘And suddenly, the stress levels in my life shot up because I left that industry years ago, but it won’t leave me alone.”
“It’s all been triggered – and everybody’s agreed with this – by my PTSD from the industry.”
In recent months, Sykes has spoken out about the inappropriate behaviour allegations against her former colleague Gino D’Acampo – which he has denied.
She revealed in a YouTube video in February: ‘If you’re going to support somebody’s bad behaviour, you create monsters.
‘The industry creates monsters, and then the industry go, “oh we didn’t know,” and you did know, your silence creates monsters.’
‘If you’ve gone that little bit too far and nobody pulled you up on it, you’ve got no reason to believe you can’t go even further,’ she went on.
‘And if you’re paid to have that outrageous output in the name of entertainment, again, why would you think you need to curb it?’
Sykes worked with D’Acampo on several shows, including ITV’s Let’s Do Lunch with Gino & Mel from 2011 to 2014.
She previously revealed her experience with Gregg Wallace led her to quit TV, and has spoken out against the BBC and ITV in the past.
Sykes and D’Acampo worked together for several years (Picture: Ken McKay/Shutterstock)The star first came to fame in 1996 when she appeared in a TV advert that showed in an ice cream van serving Boddingtons Bitter.
This led to her presenting on Big Breakfast in the 90s, Today with Des and Mel in 2002, and appearing in I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here in 2017.
The star stepped away from the showbiz industry in 2021 after being diagnosed with autism. She said at the time: ‘My late diagnosis of autism has changed my life for the better, I just needed to do the work. For once, I come first.’
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