Melanie Sykes has bravely opened up about her health battles over the years. The TV personality revealed she’d recently been suffering from ‘alopecia and heart issues’
Over the years, Melanie Sykes has opened up about the health battles she’s been facing behind the scenes. In a new update shared with her fans, the 54 year old took to social media to reveal she’d been experiencing “alopecia and heart issues” over recent months as she detailed what’d been going on away from the spotlight.
This isn’t the first time that Melanie has bravely shone a light on her health issues. In November 2021, The Big Breakfast star described the “life-affirming” moment she received an autism diagnosis at the age of 51 as she recalled how the diagnosis had allowed her to make sense of her life.
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“This week has been truly life-changing. Or rather, life affirming. As many of you may or may not know, I was diagnosed with autism late Thursday afternoon. And then, finally, so many things made sense,” she wrote in a social media post.
The TV star continued: “I cannot begin to tell you the sense of relief this is for me and how much I celebrate this diagnosis. I now have a deeper understanding of myself, my life, and the things I have endured.”
Further opening up about her diagnosis on Loose Women, the mum-of-two revealed how she’d been working on a documentary with Harry Thompson, who is autistic, about the failures of the education system when he began to suspect that she might be autistic or have ADHD.
“Ten minutes in he thought I might have an ADHD profile, and autistic profile because of how I was,” she explained. “I know now what makes me autistic and it’s the fabric of me… and I think I’m fantastic!”
“I’m here for everyone who’s autistic,” she said. “It’s a good thing, because it’s not a disorder… it’s the things that we can do!”
With her diagnosis coming during adulthood, the TV presenter was then asked whether she’d have done anything differently had her diagnosis come sooner. “I would have asked for more of what I needed… there was a lot of sensitivities that I would have dealt with,” she replied.
Two years later, in 2023, the former radio presenter released her memoir Illuminated: Autism & All The Things I’ve Left Unsaid which detailed her story of getting her autism and ADHD diagnoses and aimed to raise awareness of the conditions.
“My diagnosis made me realise just who I actually am and what I’ve been hiding, because it hasn’t been required of me. It’s not even been asked of me. Can you imagine being in broadcasting, but people don’t really want to know the true you?,” she told the Chris Evans Breakfast Show.
“You become a certain way due to exterior forces. And I no longer do that. I am the force. I am my own force and I will operate in every which way I choose. I just had to remove myself from industries that don’t take care of you.”
In a new update, Melanie revealed that she has been experiencing alopecia and heart issues. In an Instagram post, the TV personality shared a snap in which she pointed out a bald spot on her head and explained how she’d taken the photo while she was in London investigating “some health issues”.
She wrote: “I am experiencing alopecia and heart issues due to all that has happened over the last few months. PTSD, shock, mistreatment and malpractice,” before encouraging fans to watch a YouTube video she’d uploaded on the topic.
In the 30-minute-long YouTube video, Melanie detailed her health struggles and parted sections of her hair to reveal her hair loss, noting how she’d also been struggling with stress and insomnia. The star explained how she developed a heart problem amid the allegations against her former colleague Gino D’Acampo.
Gino was accused of allegations of inappropriate and intimidating behaviour over a 12-year period, which he has vehemently denied. In February, ITV News said they had spoken to “over 40 people” in an investigation into the TV chef’s alleged behaviour.
Melanie worked with the chef on ITV’s Let’s Do Lunch with Gino and Mel from 2011 to 2014 and opened up about her experiences with “misogyny” in the TV industry. “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 said in the video. After detailing how she felt like she’d been dismissed by several cardiologists because of her autism and ADHD, Melanie eventually found a specialist who 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 revealed.
The Mirror has contacted Gino’s reps for comment.
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