Zoe Lyons, the host of BBC Two quiz show Lightning, has revealed her ‘really distressing’ battle with alopecia, a condition she’s had since childhood but which became much worse during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The comedian, a star of BBC Two’s Mock the Week, found very little to joke about when her hair came out in clumps as she faced a personal crisis.
“This is the worst I’ve ever had and I’ve found it really distressing,” she told the Mirror. “I know it’s just hair, but it’s incredible how much you have and how long it takes to come out.
“So every day you are gathering clumps off the floor, off your pillow, out of the shower. That, to me, is the worst part. Now it has stabilised I’m all right, but while it’s coming out, it’s really tough.”
Zoe said many dermatologists and doctors will tell you alopecia is an autoimmune disease and not stress related, but for her the condition – which affects eight million women in Britain – was definitely down to stress brought on by the pandemic and a temporary split with her wife.
“I mean, nobody has had a glorious two years, but I had various things that were going on at the time that were very traumatic and stressful. The pandemic meant I wasn’t working and staying home all the time made my domestic life quite difficult, so my wife, Sindy, and I separated for a while, though I’m happy to say we are back together again now.”
Zoe said she first experienced hair loss at 11, when she was dealing with the trauma of her parents’ divorce. Her hair came out badly over a couple of years but as it was at the nape of her head, it was easy to hide.
She became adept at creating an elaborate combover to obscure the bald patches, though it was ‘very wind dependent’, but she knew at the start of 2020 it was going to be significant.
She has tried a multitude of treatments – steroid injections, tablets, immunotherapy and immunosuppressants (‘not a not a brilliant thing to start taking during a pandemic’) – but is now focusing on changing her lifestyle, with plenty of exercise, using supplements and eating well.
“I’m seeing little sprouts of recovery now, so it’s just a case of biding my time and creating a healthy environment in which hair can grow.”
‘Lightning' returns to BBC Two on Monday Mar 14.
Find out more about alopecia and how it can be treated here.
