Being Paul Gascoigne
ITV HD, ITV, STV, UTV: TUES 24th SEP 9pm - 10pm
Repeat: ITV +1 (not ITV Meridian +1, Ulster +1, ITV Border South +1), STV +1 Tomorrow 10pm
When a sporting legend’s slide into alcoholism is as abject and public as Gazza’s, it’s hard to watch. How dispiriting this full-access documentary proves to be will depend on which chapters in his sad, ongoing cycle of recovery and relapse it documents.
“I don’t know why I’m an alcoholic. I wish I wasn’t, but I am,” says Gascoigne. “I have my bad days; I just tell myself I’ve got to get through it. But if I’m having a good day, I really make the most of it.”
Over a three-month period, Gascoigne gives cameras access to his private life as he tries to rebuild his relationship with his ex-wife Sheryl and his step-children.
The former England footballer gives cameras unprecedented access to his private life over a three-month period for this one-off documentary. It explores his battle with alcoholism, and begins with his public relapse earlier this year, through to his recovery and a more recent fall from grace, and follows his attempts to rebuild his relationship with ex-wife Sheryl, son Regan and stepdaughter Bianca.
www.radiotimes.com
