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Bill Bailey decided to shave his ‘trademark’ hairstyle off after barbecue incident

Bailey said he felt as if the universe had said ‘cut your hair, cut your hair, you idiot’

Greg Evans
Monday 21 October 2024 12:44 BST
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nGMk5MJh - Bill Bailey reveals that he almost lost his hair in a fire

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Comedian Bill Bailey has revealed that he got rid of his trademark haircut after he nearly lost it in an incident at a barbecue.

The former Strictly Come Dancing winner, appeared on Friday’s edition of The Graham Norton Show where he spoke about his new haircut.

The 59-year-old shocked fans back in June when he revealed that he had removed his signature locks which he had had throughout his career.

Bailey, who was appearing alongside Bruce Springsteen, Amy Adams and Vanessa Williams on the show, was asked by Norton why he decided to go for a new haircut.

In his typical offbeat fashion, Bailey explained: “I was on a hiking holiday in the summer and at one point I was leaning over a barbeque and my hair caught on fire. I think the universe was telling me it was time.”

Bailey also claimed that he has been mistaken for a younger version of himself. He added: “The other day someone came up to me and said, ‘You look just like Bill Bailey, but younger.’ It’s great.”

Further elaborating on the incident, Bailey told the Loose Ends podcast: “I actually went on a big hike earlier this year - I walked to the Cape Wrath Trail.

“And during that time, we were living, you know, sort of at bothies and wild camping - we were quite feral for a while.

“And I was leaning over to the barbecue at one point, and a wisp of my long hair nearly got caught in the barbecue. I thought, this is time.”

Cape Wrath Trail is a hiking route that runs through the Scottish Highlands and along the west coast of the country.

Bill Bailey shares his home with a menagerie of animals (Gillian Robertson/PA)
Bill Bailey shares his home with a menagerie of animals (Gillian Robertson/PA) (Gillian Robertson/PA)

Bailey said he felt as if the universe had said “cut your hair, cut your hair, you idiot”.

He continued: “I went to the barbers at the end of my road, very traditional barbers - and I said, yeah, I said, it’s a big thing for me, you know, long hair is a trademark, it’s been with me for a long time, it’s kind of iconic, been with me since I was in my 20s.”

“So it’s quite a big day for me. And he just went, yeah, whatever, mate. It was all gone in eight seconds, you know, and that was it.”

The comedian said he thought about keeping the hair as there could be ‘some auction value’ in it - but decided against it.

Bailey has recently released a memoir titled My Animals, And Other Animals, a chronology of his life hinged around all the animals he has met along the way.

Additional reporting by agencies.

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