England legend Paul Gascoigne reveals depth of ongoing personal struggles with alcohol during emotional TV interview

Gascoigne was quizzed on his health as he appeared on the ITV daytime show Good Morning Britain. The 58-year-old has written a new book, 'Eight', in which he opens up about the depths of his alcohol addiction that has plagued him since he retired from football more than 20 years ago.

As a player, he won the hearts of the nation in 1990 after he cried on the pitch in England's semi-final against West Germany, having collected a booking that would have ruled him out of the final. As it turned out, the Three Lions fell agonisingly short, but did so in a heroic way that has become synonymous with the England national team. 

Now, the former Spurs and Lazio star has admitted that he does still drink, and has been forced to rejoin Alcoholics' Anonymous (AA), where he gets support from other sufferers of alcohol addiction. 

He said: "I can go months and months without bothering and then have a two-day blip and then the consequences. And then I don't like myself for a few days.

"I just get miserable and then have to go to an AA meeting and just listen because you wonder what it is. It wasn't until I first went to AA meetings that I realised I was an alcoholic."

Gascoigne appeared on the verge of tears throughout the interview, and he used a heartbreaking analogy to explain why he has found it so difficult to go completely sober.

He added, when asked if it was 'impossible' for him to give up: "Not really, I've done five years and four years [of trying to stop the booze],' he continued. 'It's like anything else; if you sit in the barbers for long enough, you're going to get a haircut'.

"I did this book, Eight, to try and help others. It's nothing about football; it's what I put myself through."

Gascoigne also admitted to taking drugs, and he claims the habit started when his phone was hacked. In 2015, he was awarded damages after Mirror Group journalists were found to have hacked his phone for a period of a decade. 

Reflecting on that time, the ex-midfielder said: "That came on with the drugs when I first tried it, and then I had the problem. It was only because of the phone hacking, I fell out with my mum and dad for three months, and that destroyed us.

"Then, because of the hacking, I took the drugs, and then my dad sectioned me for 11 days - I was 22 - the undercover coppers. Then afterwards, I was alright after that.

"The only [people] I spoke to was my mum and dad and it kept on coming out in the newspapers, so I fell out with them. I ended up having six mobile phones and still using the phone box outside.

"I was thinking, 'Mum and dad, what the f*** are you doing?' Sorry for the language. 'Why are you speaking to the papers?' That destroyed us, the drugs had took hold, and it was only until my dad got me sectioned, which was the best thing that has ever happened."

Gascoigne also reflected on his childhood trauma; a friend's younger brother, whom he was looking after, died in his arms when Gascoigne was just 10. 

"His younger brother wouldn't go to the boys' club, and I said I'd look after him. He was only eight and I was 10," he said. "We left the shop and I said, 'Quick, come on, run, let's go'. He ran in front of us one yard, and the car just hit him.

"I ran down and he died in my lap. I thought he was still alive because his lips moved a bit. I went, 'He's ok, he's breathing,' but he wasn't. That was his last movement.

"I picked him up out of the coffin at only 10, and I remember him being freezing. When the coffin left, I went and stayed with them again, in that same room for a week. I was only 10, and I was staying in the same room with a coffin; it was horrific. I ended up with noises and twitches, and I said I refused to go and see him any more. It wasn't until I really started getting involved with football that it started getting my mind off of everything."