mel's hell
Melanie Sykes reveals devastating health battle while showing bald spot on head which she blames on ‘PTSD & malpractice’
Mel also opened up on how she was affected by the Gino D'Acampo allegations recently
MELANIE Sykes has revealed she is battling alopecia and heart issues in a candid post about her health.
TV presenter Mel, 54, shared a picture of herself on Instagram with a bald spot on the side of her head which she blamed on "PTSD, shock, mistreatment and malpractice."
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She wrote: "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."
Mel - who has also lost most of her eyebrows - urged doctors to do better, revealing she has struggled to get treated for her condition.
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She said: "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."
Despite her ordeal, she insisted she is "full of love, hope and happiness" as she navigates this latest challenge.
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In a separate video on her channel, Mel went into more detail, claiming she has struggled with stress and insomnia since the allegations came out about her former colleague, Gino D'Acampo.
TV chef Gino has been accused of numerous allegations of inappropriate and intimidating behaviour over a 12 year period - claims he strongly denies.
Mel worked closely with the Italian-born star on ITV's Let's Do Lunch and has spoken about her own experiences with "misogyny" in the industry.
Having now left the TV business, ex-model Mel claims these stories resurfacing has lead to an irregular heartbeat and hair loss.
She said: "I am experiencing alopecia in quite a significant way. I have lost inches off my hairline at the back. I have probably got half my hair at the moment.
"The night that it all broke about Gino D'Acampo, I didn't sleep a wink...
'STRESS AND INSOMNIA'
"I remember thinking, god if I can't sleep because it has brought everything back to me, how the f*** is he feeling? I actually felt sorry for him.
"What he has said and does, and alleged to have said and done.... It's so heinous.
"He must feel like s*** about himself, unless he's a complete narcissist and thinks that's okay.
"Who knows, I'm not a psychotherapist and I haven't studied him but I've experienced him."
Mel, who is having treatment, says a scalp specialist believes her hair will grow back.
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She went on to say she has seen several cardiologists about her "dodgy ticker" but felt like she was continually dismissed because she has autism and ADHD - until she found a specialist that took her seriously.
"I'm having a heart monitor sent to the house and I have got to wear it for two days to monitor the sound of it, " she explained.
In the meantime, she claimed she uses cannabis under the supervision of her medical team as it helps, as well as working on addressing the "trauma" she has been through.
Mel and Gino hosted Let's Do Lunch with Gino and Mel together from 2011-2014 and both also appeared on Celebrity Juice.
MEL'S TV NIGHTMARE
She previously said: "Celebrity Juice was an abomination, the industry creates monsters.
"I remember once when Gino said to me he can just go up to the powers that be and knock on the door and go in, he doesn't need a meeting.
'He was quite pleased with himself that he could do that"
Mel - who started her media career as a model in the 1990s - also claimed she quit TV for good in 2021 after an inappropriate remark from shamed Masterchef judge Gregg Wallace.
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"I feel like I was in a war zone in that industry – 24 years of battling through an industry that didn't feel right to me anyway," she has said.
"If you're spending all your time cleaning up people's s***, just clean the house, clean out the house and start again, that's all I'm saying."
What is alopecia areata?
Alopecia areata causes patches of baldness about the size of a large coin - both men and women are equally affected.
It can occur at any age but most cases first develop in teenagers and children.
At least half of the people with the condition develop their first patch of hair loss before they are 21 years old.
They usually appear on the scalp but can occur anywhere on the body.
In most cases of alopecia areata, hair will grow back in a few months to a year.
At first, hair may grow back fine and white, but over time it should thicken and regain its normal colour.
For women, sometimes birth can trigger postpartum alopecia too.
Some people go on to develop a more severe form of hair loss, where they lose all their hair.
This is called alopecia totalis (no scalp hair) and alopecia universalis (no hair on the scalp and body).
Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease, where the immune system attacks part of your body by mistake.
In this condition the immune system surrounds and attacks hair follicles.
The cause is unknown but iron deficiency, and stress could trigger the condition.
People with a family history of alopecia areata also appear more susceptible and it is more common among those who have an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism), diabetes or Down's syndrome.
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