Ranvir Singh health: ‘It was absolutely devastating’ Strictly star’s hair loss battle

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The Good Morning Britain presenter seems flawless, but Ranvir has spent a lifetime covering up her bald patches. Diagnosed with alopecia in her childhood, what started it all off?

In a candid interview with The Mirror in 2015, Ranvir shared how her mum discovered her first bald patch.

“I had really lovely, thick, dark locks that went down to my hips,” she recalled.

“I remember my mum plaiting my hair for school,” she continued. “She put her finger at the nape of my neck and went, ‘Oooh’ as she felt a bald patch.”

Ranvir, 43, believes the alopecia was triggered by her dad’s heart attack – she was eight at the time.

“It was absolutely devastating,” she detailed. “I’d have nightmares and wake up crying.”

A year later, her dad had another heart attack and passed away. She added: “My world was completely ripped apart.”

Following the tragic loss of her dad, the “hair loss went completely haywire”.

“I’d wake up and my pillow would be covered in clumps [pf hair],” she explained.

“Mum took me to hospital, and the consultant said it was part of my body shutting down from the shock.

“I remember the word alopecia being used but I didn’t really understand what it meant.”

By 15 years old, she had a bald patch “the size of a £1 coin” on the crown of her head.

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“Over the years, patches at the front of my hair started appearing,” she stated.

To conceal her condition while at work, Ranvir has turned to “bonded-in extensions”, “hair powder”, and a fringe.

Alopecia

The charity Alopecia UK identified eight main types of alopecia:

• Alopecia Areata
• Androgeneric Alopecia
• Central Centrifugal Cicatricial Alopecia
• Chemotherapy Induced Alopecia
• Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia
• Lichen Planopilaris
• Telogen Effluvium
• Traction Alopecia

Alopecia Areata is an autoimmune condition whereby “isolated patches of hair loss” appears.

The bald patches are usually “coin-sized”, and they can also appear across the body, such as the eyebrows and eyelashes.

In this type of hair loss, immune system T-cells – known as NKG2D – attack the hair follicle.

This prevents the hair follicle form producing more hair; this condition starts in childhood in 50 percent of cases.

There is no cure for the condition, but treatments can include corticosteroids.

New therapies include JAK-inhibitors, which suppresses parts of the immune system.

Meanwhile, Mum to Tushaan, eight, Ranvir will be keeping fit with dance partner Giovanni Pernice on Strictly.

The pair scored 24 points in week six of the competition, performing the American Smooth.

You can watch Ranvir on BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing, Saturday, December 5 at 7.25pm.

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