Melinda Messenger, 55, shows off her natural grey hair in stunning selfie as she reveals 'I found real freedom and joy in just letting myself be'

Melinda Messenger wowed fans with a striking selfie on Saturday after embracing her natural grey hair. 

The 55-year-old presenter – who found fame as a lads' mag favourite in the Nineties before picking up TV work – looked incredible in the snap as she filled fans in on her decision to go au naturel. 

Melinda explained: 'The grey grow out journey so far! I know not everyone wants to embrace the natural colour and I get that. 

'I've had many wobbles, used highlights and toners to try and blend it in, and there are no rules, so whatever feels right for you is ok.

'But I am enjoying staying with it and I've found my hair has never felt healthier. 

'And more importantly for me, I found real freedom and joy in just letting myself be. I think that's the greatest benefit.'

Melinda continued: 'That and not buying into the conditioning that women are not allowed to age and that beauty is confined to the expectations of those that profit from it.

'There’s nothing wrong with colouring your hair, embracing your grey, changing your mind or doing whatever makes you feel good. And this feels good for me. ✨'

Melinda's decision to embrace her grey hair comes a year after she claimed she was axed from hosting the Miss South Yorkshire beauty pageant because she'd gone 'too grey.'

The mother-of-three, who is now a psychotherapist, had been announced as the star host of the 2025 Miss South Yorkshire Grand Finale.

But just hours before the event, Melinda took to Instagram to clarify that she would not, in fact, be attending – after discovering that organisers were still promoting her as part of the line-up despite having withdrawn her weeks ago.

She wrote: 'Just to let you know that I won't be appearing at the Miss South Yorkshire event tonight as originally advertised. 

'The organisers made the decision to withdraw me from the line-up, and this wasn't communicated to the public in advance, so I just wanted to clarify directly to avoid any confusion for those who were expecting to see me there.

'I was genuinely looking forward to being part of the evening and am wishing everyone attending a positive and successful event.'

Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail, Melinda revealed the reasons she had been dropped – saying organisers had raised issues about her appearance and recent spiritual posts online.

She explained: 'I was unexpectedly withdrawn from the line-up after concerns were raised about my appearance, specifically that I'd gone 'too grey' and about some of my recent social media posts exploring light and energy phenomena.

'There was also a request to reduce my agreed hosting fee. While disappointing, I prefer to focus on the positive.

'I've always believed authenticity and openness are strengths, and I'll continue to express myself in that way. I wish everyone involved the best with the event.'

The former glamour model ditched her platinum blonde locks in favour of the natural grey look in 2022, and previously said the look didn't go over well with some cruel trolls.

She explained: 'It was definitely about embracing a stage of life. Most people were nice but some were like, "it looks disgusting, you look so old, why would you do that?"'

Melinda, who rose to fame in the Nineties as one of Britain's most popular glamour models before fronting television shows including Live From Studio Five and Cowboy Builders, has in recent years become known for her work in personal development and spiritual wellness.

Melinda has also shared posts exploring meditation, consciousness, and 'light energy', reflecting her holistic outlook - themes she now says may have unsettled organisers.