Lucy: Booze Gazz really taken its toll on ex-soccer star
Gascoigne tells Living With Lucy of his battle with bottle
LUCY Kennedy said fans of soccer legend Paul Gascoigne will be shocked at how “frail” he is from his career on the pitch and hard boozing.
She moved in with the 54-year-old for her show Living With Lucy and was struck by how open and honest the former England star was.
Lucy, 45, told the Irish Mirror: “People will be surprised by his frailty; you can see how his career and hard living have had an effect on him.”
She revealed his honesty around alcohol was refreshing, adding: “If someone has a problem with drink, the last thing you want to do is keep bringing it up.
“I’m there to represent everyone, so we cover drink. He believes he can control it, that’s his business.
“He might go drinking for a couple of weeks, then stop.
“But it’s what he does in the couple of weeks where he’s on the booze where the trouble happens.
“When I was with him, he wasn’t drinking. Was he easy to live with? Very.”
“He opens up on alcohol and the implications with his family, I was surprised how open. “We have a great love of Gazza being a football legend, but also because of his raw honesty and emotion.
“He has cried more times on the pitch more so than most people, he’s been so open about his struggles.
“He’s been so open, really genuine, the episode captures him as he is.
“He’s not in any way cautious of the press and I found that so refreshing.
“Thinking about him makes me smile. I know he’s had his troubles, but I don’t think he has any enemies, you couldn’t not forgive him.
“He’s hilarious, he has incredible stories from phoning the pope to other stuff that seems unbelievable, he’s hilarious.”
The Living With Lucy featuring Pat Spillane attracted 200,000 viewers, last week but the mum of three said keeping it on top is the hard part.
She added: “I know Living With Lucy would never be a flop, as it’s my baby and it’s very personal to me, it gets extra special attention from me.
“It’s always got an A, it’s harder to keep an A than it is to get an A.”
Episode two of Living With Lucy is on tonight at 9pm on Virgin Media One.
He thinks he can control his drinking. That’s his business
LUCY KENNEDY