‘If I want a drink, I’ll have a drink!’ Paul Gascoigne, 53, reveals he’s back on the booze amid battle with alcoholism as he prepares to star in Italian version of I’m A Celebrity

• The football legend, 53, has gone in and out of rehab due to alcohol-related problems since retiring from football in 2004 
• In January, Paul opened up about an alcohol relapse over the Christmas period, but insisted: ‘I’ve just got back on the straight and narrow again’
• The former England star had paid £20,000 to have anti-alcohol pellets inserted 
• If you need help with a drinking problem, call Alcoholics Anonymous free on 0800 9177 650 or email [email protected] 

He spent £20,000 to have anti-boozing pellets puts into his stomach to stop him drinking, just over a year ago. 

But, in a new interview, Paul Gascoigne, 53, has revealed that he’s back on the booze amid his battle with alcoholism, confessing: ‘I’ll always be an alcoholic.’

The footballing legend, who is preparing to star in the Italian version of I’m A Celebrity, admitted he now enjoys having: ‘a couple of glasses of wine… and a few beers.’  

Back on the booze: In a new interview, Paul Gascoigne, 53, has revealed that he’s back on the booze amid his battle with alcoholism, confessing: ‘I’ll always be an alcoholic’

Paul told The Sun: ‘I’ll always be an alcoholic, but now I can have a couple of glasses of wine — and I have a few beers. Not every day, but when I want to.

‘I only ever drink when . . . well, put it this way — if I want a drink I’ll have a drink. If I don’t want one I’ll just leave it, which is not the right thing, but I’ve been like that for ages.

‘I don’t trust spirits so I keep away from them, but I’m on top of things at the moment. I’m enjoying life.’

Enjoying life: The sports star, who is preparing to star in the Italian I’m A Celebrity, admitted he now enjoys having: ‘a couple of glasses of wine… and a few beers’ (Pictured in 2018)

Not every day! ‘Now I can have a couple of glasses of wine — and I have a few beers. Not every day, but when I want to’ said Paul (Pictured in 2015)

In January 2020, Paul appeared on This Morning where he told Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid: ‘I had a relapse at Christmas, which I was gutted [about], but I’ve just got back on the straight and narrow again.’  

The same month, he told The Mirror: ‘I’ve been to Australia, and spent £20,000 including all the travel, to get an operation that stops me drinking.

‘You get pellets in your stomach and it makes you feel sick if you have too much.

‘It means you can have a beer or a glass of wine and socialise, but you cannot have any more.’

Honest: Paul appeared on This Morning in January, where he revealed: ‘I had a relapse at Christmas, which I was gutted [about], but I’ve just got back on the straight and narrow again’ 

His admission comes after it was reported that Paul is studying Italian ahead of his stint on their version of I’m A Celebrity. 

The football legend is the star signing of Isola de Famosi – Island of the Famous and, before his appearance next month, he is said to want to improve his language skills so he can keep up the conversation with his campmates.

According to reports, among those set to join him in Central America is stunning Miss Italy 2019, Carolina Stramare, actress Angela Melillo, 53, and fashion heiress Drusilla Gucci. 

Ciao! Paul Gascoigne is reportedly studying Italian ahead of his stint on their version of I’m A Celebrity 

A source told The Sun: ‘Paul has a basic grasp of Italian and he can make himself understood. But what we really want to avoid is having subtitles too often as that would ruin it.

‘The idea is to get him up to a good conversational level so he can talk with the other competitors. We are expecting some exciting TV from Paul. 

The insider added: ‘The women on the island are all very attractive and range in ages from 22 to 53 — the same age as Paul — and most of them are single.’

Wow: According to reports, among those set to join him in Central America is stunning Miss Italy 2019, Carolina Stramare

Fashionista: Fashion heiress Drusilla Gucci has also been named as one of the stars reportedly set to appear on the show

Beauty: Actress Angela Melillo, 53, will also reportedly join Paul in Central America

The source said it will make great TV to see how the footballer legend ‘interacts with these women who are very opinionated and have strong views’. 

MailOnline has contacted Paul’s representatives for comment.  

The sportsman is enjoying some downtime in Italy before his weekend flight to Honduras, where he will quarantine before descending into the jungle in March.  

His signing is something of a coup for bosses of Isola de Famosi – Italian for Island of the famous – though he’s set to face tropical storms and poisonous spiders. 

Busy time: The ex-Newcastle and Spurs midfielder was allowed to leave the UK to take part amid the novel coronavirus lockdown as his trip is work-related. Pictured in 1990 

England hero Gazza, who has battled alcohol and drug addiction, will be heading to the Hog Cays, a small archipelago 18 miles off the northern coast of Honduras. 

Known in Spanish as Cayos Cochinos, it consists of two small islands and 13 other coral cays. They can only be reached by boat and there are no roads, car or bikes.  

Contestants on Spanish versions of the show, also filmed on the islands, have previously had to be evacuated because of bad weather.  

Programme producers made an emergency decision to pull celebs out three years ago, saying it was done to ‘avoid tragedy’ as torrential rain and high winds battered the area.

Another storm the following year destroyed the makeshift shelters contestants slept in, leaving them exposed to the elements in soaking-wet clothes. 

Tarantulas and snakes which release a foul-smelling musk from their tail are among the animals that live in the archipelago, part of a larger group of islands proclaimed as a British colony in 1852 until their surrender to Honduras seven years later after US pressure.   

Filming for the Italian hit show starts on March 11 and runs for two months. Gazza will have to quarantine for two weeks after he arrives in Honduras this coming weekend. 

The ex-Newcastle and Spurs midfielder will be allowed to leave the UK to take part as his trip is work-related. 

He is expected to be dropped into the ocean by helicopter and made to swim to shore to start his island adventure. The famous chopper drops, a feature of both the Italian and Spanish versions of the famous reality TV show, have sparked panic attacks among some contestants in previous editions.

Sunshine: England hero Gazza, who has battled alcohol and drug addiction, will be heading to the Hog Cays, a small archipelago 18 miles off the northern coast of Honduras (pictured) 

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