Tonight, viewers were offered an insight into the troubled life of football legend Paul Gascoigne and his family with the broadcast of David Clews’ moving documentary Surviving Gazza.
The film – which documents Paul’s return home after having been sectioned for six weeks under the mental health act – revealed how like thousands of other families in the UK, the Gascoignes cope with a loved one who has a life-threatening addiction.
Did you watch Surviving Gazza? What did you think? If you’d like to share your thoughts on the programme, please leave your comments below.
To learn more about the documentary, or to watch exclusive video interviews with Paul’s wife Sheryl and children Mason, Bianca and Regan, please visit the official Surviving Gazza page on Channel4.com.
If you need help or information on the effects of living with alcohol, please visit the Surviving Gazza helpline page.
Commentsoldest first
First of all, Gazza needs help. Big time. But unfortunately, he has to want to get help and it appeared through the documentary that he wasn’t in that place that would allow him to admit it to himself.
Second, his family are choc full of love for him, which is testament to them, and I was absolutely astonished at the difference between the tabloids portrayal of the family and the reality portrayed here.
Finally, it would seem that if Gazza cannot see where he is, then Intervention may be the next call. There seem to be one hell of a lot of people who think the world of the guy, and if he ever gets there, he will have the most amazing support network.
It’s so sad, and I really did feel for the family immensely.
Good luck Paul – from a Gooner.
Can Channel 4 or the family explain why they thought that having a film crew in the house as soon as Paul Gascoigne came out of Rehab would be good for him? This was exploitative car crash television.
jules if u had watched this morning yesterday you would of seen sheryl and the kids on there. to have the camera crew in was paul’s choice not sheryls .even thoughthey r divorced she still cares.that takes a lot of guts to admit that
I was so moved by the documentary surviving Gazza. Cheryl and her family are so brave to share the heartache of having an addict in the family. My husband is an alcoholic and I have 2 children age 12yrs and 18yrs. He does not live with us but continues to dominate our lives. I could completly identify with Cheryl she is so right when she states there is no help for the families, it is all directed to the addict [who most of the time do not want it ] I also have spent my life trying to “make him better ” especially as I am a nurse. I now feel quite inspired after watching the program to actually say no more.
I feel that I have to reply to this as a recovering alkie(?} myself. I have been sober for over 3 years a day at a time, and I feel she has no right to downcry something she knows nothing about. I am 37 with a 19 year old son who has witnessed things he should not have, but thankfully I was givin the chance (because it is an ILLNESS, and thankfully they seen that), to make things right. I would also like to say that my father was an alcoholic, and although times were hard sometimes, we all stuck together and he also recovered from this TERRIBLE illness. so I have seen it from both sides and although I do not agree with what she has to say, I admire her honesty. Alcoholics do not have a say when the compulsion for a drink overwhelms them,what seems logic to other people, for some reason does not aply to us. Do people really think that what I put my son through was meant? I ask u, please, consider this. To finish off, I work very hard now, pay my way and have a loving son and family who respect me as much as I respect them (and a lot more). please do not judge people unless you have walked in there shoes. (ps – as a nurse, you should know better) PEOPLE WITH A DRINK PROBLEM DO NOT WISH THIS ON ANY ONE, LEAST OF ALL THE PEOPLE WHO LOVE THEM .
my heart goes out to the Gascoignes, my father died two years ago due to alcoholism, i watched the documentry in tears understanding what pain there all going through,how utterly selfish alcoholics are,what a responsabilty they are,thank’s to the documentry i now know,the only person could change him was him,thank you so much because i now have closeur and true understanding, i was like maison could not give up on trying to help and understand him,it’s such a shame alcoholics can’t see the damage of there addiction,what deep scars they leave thank you so much the Gascoignes i now know my father was responsable for his alcoholism and not us, x
Why did the “therapist” who enjoyed a jaunt to Portugal at either the Gascoignes’ or Channel 4’s expense never once comment to this poor family that they are all “addicted” ? Cheryl clearly has an addictive personality – Cheryl could not stop herself going to Portugal to confront Paul. She has repeatedly suffered Paul’s brutality, and many of these episodes happened years ago, before Paul was in such a booze fueled state.
Young Mason is a grown man saddled with the lifelong trauma of living with an egotistical brute. He shows classic signs of an abused child. He constantly craves the approval and love of his adopted father. Sadly, this will never come, and he will spend years of his adult life trying to come to terms with this. Strangely the only one not drawn into this addictive dynamic was young Reagan. What will it have done to this young man to have been part of this grotesque exercise? He is understandably bitter that his siblings at least have some fond memories of their Dad which they can cling to. What memories does Reagan have?
What legacy has this left for Bianca? Please, look out for yourself, and recognise the signs – don’t become the victim of your own personal brute – you were Paul’s victim as a child, don’t perpetuate this as an adult, you are better than that.
Why do these sad people feel it is appropriate to have all this personal stuff put out for public consumption?
Why don’t you all go somewhere away from the public gaze and find a way to heal yourselves. This whole painful programme (no doubt severely edited) seemed to be all about Gazza. Gazza only existed for his few years of brilliance as a talented footballer. Paul is the man who is probably beyond recovery – years of alcohol and drugs excess will have physiologically and physically damaged him beyond help.
This is a heartfelt plea from an unknown person, who allowed my own life and that of my child to be put in extreme danger by an addictive attachment to an additive personality. Find the way to love yourselves and each other, and heal.
Getting drunk to an alcoholic is like having a back massage for sciatica…it’s the only way you can get rid of the pain…whilst the pain is there nothing else matters other than getting rid of the pain…when you get rid of the pain everything else starts to get back to normal…until the pain comes back again, the answer is understanding why drink take such a hold of venerable people like Gazza…there are so many people out there with the same problem but so few in the public spotlight. I feel for everyone on the programme and unable to shake it from my mind today, that is what television is about…making you think about something outside of your own box but this situation could so easily happen to any family out there. My thoughts go out to Sheryl, Mason, Bianca and Regan as you shouldn’t have gone through this ordeal but stay true to yourself and your Dad will do what is right for him but you can’t change his direction, however hard you try.
I congratulate you on showing the Gazza documentary – I hope it will lead to a better understanding of what it’s like for the families of alcoholics like Paul. My daughter is exactly like him – it was like looking in on our own family life. It has split my family down the middle as after 5 years of hell some of them can’t take it anymore & have cut off from her. As her mum I simply can’t do that – but I know it’s destroying me. I have tried everything to get her to stop but it’s like trying to hold back the tide – even the fact her beautiful 5 year old twins were removed by social services hasn’t been the wake up call we hoped – & now I’m bringing them up & struggling to cope with the emotional baggage they are already displaying. It is truly the families who are the victims & no matter how much we love our alcoholic family member we can’t stop them drinking – only they can help themselves when they are ready & all we can do is try to minimise the damage to the children & keep them safe. Of course I feel sorry for Paul – he’s a tortured soul like my beautiful daughter who is drinking herself to death – but I feel sorrier for his family, & let’s not forget he is somebody’s son to.
i would really like Gazza to get better he deserves and so does the family
mason is lovely he’s massive ha ha ha
ur beautiful x x x x
I have recorded this prog so that i can sit down with my 11 yr old son and hopefully answer alot of questions that he has about his dad (we divorced 8 yrs ago), who like Paul is an alcoholic.
It was informative and my heart goes out to the Gascoines as they can do no more.
Thank you for letting us into your hell as i am sure there are many families out there who now do not feel alone.
This man is a disgrace. Hes had every opportunity a man can have in life and hes pissed it all away, alienating his lovely family in the process. Good for them showing him for what he is and for letting his adoring public see what a terrible life hes given his poor family. maybe now the publics love in with Gazza will stop and that his family have the life they deserve. Drunks are selfish people who dont care about the effect they have on those who love them.
i think you’re wrong. he isn’t a disgrace. he is sick.alcoholism is an illness not something done out of selfishness. drug addicts get more help. i feel so very sorry for them all and mason, bless him especially.
I think this programe shows the reality that many people are living on a daily baisis. It is heartbreaking but a reality of life. Everyone involved are victims of a cruel disease, i’m sure paul does not want to be an alcholoic or hurt his extended family giving them the worry they all suffer, but he does have an illness. It is right that sheryl and her family try to get on with their lives but because they love him they will not be able to do this completly. I hope and pray paul does get better and have a good quality of life and good contact with all members of his family. I’m sure his mum and family are suffering also please god paul can learn to live with his addiction and illness and that his extended family can live with peace of mind.
As a student mental health nurse, I chose to watch this programme from an educational viewpoint.
Within 10 minutes I found myself in tears, and cried through to the very end. What a brave family, who despite everything, showed love and courage for their father and each other.
Sheryl clearly loves her children, trying to do anything to help Paul & keep her children happy despite the turmoil Paul has put her through.
I hope that one day Paul may be able to build a proper relationship with his children.
Before people call Paul a disgrace and judge him, they should remember that addiction is a terrible disease, an illness, one which is so hard to fight.
My thoughts are with Sheryl, Mason, Bianca and Regan in this tough time.
i really felt for the family i havent experienced anything like what they have but i really enjoyed watching and listerning how they all feel and if i could meet the family i wud tell them that it gave me some understanding of what it is like all the best to sheryl bianca mason and regan my thoughts r with you all
I found this programme a sigh of relief. It just shows that no matter what background how much money you have, Alcohol abuse is an illness – a continual circle. As a family you have built a relationship with this person before the dependancey either from infancy as lover, a parent or friend. When the ‘drink’ becomes more important than the feelings they have for you, it doesnt always make you feel the same, you hate what they are doing to themselves and how it deeply effect everyone they have contact with, but, as the saying goes you can take a horse to water but you cant make them drink it! In the same way you can see this person destroying EVERYTHING they have, but you cant change them, it has to come from them, and if they dont,cant its a complete spiral of destruction. From one family to another youre not alone, and unfortunately with binge drinking such a social part of peoples lives, more and more families will be completely distroyed by addiction.
An outstanding documentary showing how hard it must be to live witha self-destructive, selfish alcoholic. I’m so glad the family got professional help for themselves, and learnt that they are not responsible for Paul’s life – only he is. An extra 4 lives ruined or damaged by drink is not going to get him off it.
Respect to all the family – no hysteria, not self pity, justa genuine desire to help.. but then a realisation that some car-crashes have to watched – that’s all you can effectively do. My family has know similar events. The saying goes – don’t bit the hand that feeds you, but I spun it and said – don’t feed the mouth that bites you! Take away the fuel for the abusive phone calls and text – don’t answer.. see how long it takes before they dry up.. anyway, the lady professional was spot-on with her advice, and best wishes to Sheryl and all the children. The childrens dignity in all this was so moving.. Sheryl is no dumb blone footballers wife.. she’s a great mother to her children and inspiration to others ina similar position.
like everyone else who watched surviving gazza my heart goes out to the family the young lad regan is a champion a man in a boys body. comming from northern ireland gazza has millions of fans off the pitch,but like the great george best the drink won, i do hope that paul does get better and mason gives his young brother support sheryl is trying but man to man would be best for both brothers and mum and bianca share thoughts .to the whole gascoigne family your country is with you
It is heartbreaking to see what has become of an all time footballing hero but I had to write to say what an appalling one-sided programme this really was. I am horrified at the portrayal of Gazza in this and find it staggering that this “loving family” had the nerve to film it. they have not cared less about him as far as I can make out until the possibility of making more money from his name came about. he needs professional help and truly believe that these people cannot help him. Bianca has lived off his name as has Sheryl. The therapist shown on this bears no resemblance to my understanding of one. I find it very convenient that they found one who can portray Paul in an even worse light than the family did. To give him his dues i thought that Mason seemed like a caring guy and hope that he can find peace with Paul but the rest of them words cannot express my anger at them. In my opinion Regan had words put in his mouth and its frightening how much it seems he has been influenced.
I hope that Paul can triumph against his demons and hope that he gets the help he needs.
Just read your comment about Gazza,and I too watched the programme,and my heartfelt sympathy went out to that little boy,I too came from an alchohlic home and that little boy said all the things which I expressed as a little girl,I am now getting to the age of 60 yrs old and have just this last year getting help for my trauma of living within an alcholic home,
Anon
fto- Anouska Wright
You clearly do not have any real understanding concerning the issues raised in the film and have not removed gazza from the pedestal he was on years ago. After watching the film, I moved by the whole families integrity and had to revise my own preconceptions about Cheryl and her children. If it was one sided, it was due to Gazz’s inabilty (and/or unwillingness) to engage with the core issues of alcohol dependency and mental illness, so he absconded, which I suspect is how he has always dealt with difficult situations. He ran off and went on the lash with Iron Maiden while Cheryl raises his son and trys to manage the feelings of his adpoted children. If she gets money out him, who’s to say she doesn’t deserve it. And what kind of professinal help does he require that has not already been made available. You really need to spend some in an AA meeting or in an alcohol treatment centre to see what alcohol and drugs do users and families. As for your comments about the family therapist, if she had been engaged earlier by the family, she would have stopped the damage and started the healing years ago. Quite frankly, I was dumbfounded by your comments and strongly suggest that you ‘read a book’ before reaching for the keyboard again.
I am not a football, or Gazza, fan, and when I saw this advertised, I thought, oh great, more car-crash tv, reality stuff etc etc. I wasn’t going to watch it but I’m glad I did, I was really quite moved – Sheryl is a great mum and her kids are a credit to her. I wish them all peace of mind and a happy future.
From Anon
Having just watched the programme on Catch up and read the comments left so far I can see why some thought it overly intrusive and ill timed. However, I too know of a family who will be using the programme, which they recorded, to be used to discuss a family member’s addiction. While we all hope and pray that Paul recovers, if this programme can be used to help other familiy’s come to terms with their loved one’s similar addictions then the programme was worth showing and hopefully Paul himself may have seen it, to help bring him to wanting to help himself. Having seen on the news that he has paid his Tax bill today to avoid bankruptcy maybe an indicator that there is some hope on the horizon! Respect for all portrayed in the film.
Surviving Gazza left me with, such deep feelings, but the biggest was, the conclusion, of the mother and what a wondrful woman she is. The kids also come out with top marks, and I wish them all the best in life.
I stumbled across this programme tonight by accident and was extremely moved by it. I am a recovering alcoholic and have been attending AA meetings for the past six and a half years. Both my parents were alcoholics, my mother got sober in AA when I was Regans age, but my father died of his alcoholism when I was just a few weeks sober myself. I identified with the family so much. I have seen the destruction, violence and mental anguish that active alcoholism can cause and I understand the overwhelming desire to ‘fix’ the parent who is so absent emotionally and physically. I thought the process of directly telling their father that he needed help but that they could no longer wait around for him to change was so brave and free-ing and painful. I sincerely hope Sheryl and her beautiful children find the peace they need. There is a 12 step recovery fellowship for the family and friends of alcoholics called Alanon – if you google it you can find their number. It is a wonderful fellowship for anyone affected by someone else’s addiction and their own resulting co-dependency. My love and hope go out to Paul, Sheryl and the children.
I would like to congratulate Sheryl on bringing up such lovely, well grounded and articulate children despite the fact that she was married to an an abusive alcholic.
i watched the surviving Gazza program last night on the recommendation of my son who had watched it on the 5th Jan, or whatever night it was first on. having lived with alcoholism for 26yrs of my life i only know too well what it does to the family, it destroys them mentally, and emotionally, you don,t live you exist. watching last night brought back a lot of painful memories, of when the alcholic in my life was in and out of rehab or therapy and whilst they are in this kind of environment they are cocooend from the rest of the world being treated as if they were children and being taught how to control their drinking. nothing is ever said to them on how they treat their families, as far as the rehabs and treatments centres are conserned famlies do not have a problem, in fact if i was to be honest they treat the famlies as ‘the problem’ . my 3 children were brought up with an alcholic father my son could relate to Manson the way he was thinking-feeling-worrying-and the pure anxiety that he was going through.Reagan bless him was the one that had the most sense, he knew and accepted that his father was a lost cause and wanted the family to get on with life, but sadly we do not listen enough to our young children, they see and hear much more that the adult realises. Who’s idea was it to send Sheryl to see that Tracy the addiction counsellor i was shocked, what did she know about living with alcholism ok she may have some knowledge of addiction, but to suggest to the family that they should go over to Portugal and seek out Gazza & confront him was totally totally wrong. i would rather my children have a last living memory of their father walking out their front door than the memoies that they now have of a ranting raving lunatic in a hotel room, who showed them no respect or consideration for what they did in traveling over to Portugal. He didnt care, he never will, and that is the sad thing. He doesnt know how to live in the real world, only the world that he has created for himself, and he is as hell bent to getting to the end of his world as he is in getting to the end of the next vodka bottle.
i noticed also that no one ever mentioned to Sheryl about Al-Anon who help families of alcholics. i went there and i know it is not easy at first but i kept with it, meeting people who are going through the same problems and knowing that you are not alone helps a lot. it gave me back my dignity – self esteem and respect, she can always look it up in the phone book if she ever wants too.
The family seemed to genuinely care about a totally self-centred Gazza. I applaud all of them for trying.
I have just watched the documentary I taped last week. What a amazing family. My heart really goes out to them. Ten year old Regan is wise beyond his years. The fact that Cheryl and Gazza were divorced 10 years ago and she and her family are still trying their hardest to help Paul is testament to her love. The whole family obviously still love him to pieces. It made me cry. There are probably alot of Gazza’s out there who don’t have the support of such a loving family. I hope it ends in a happy ending for everyone.
Cheryl is clearly no WAG and just wants the best for Paul and her kids.
You read so much in the Press but to see the other side of the story is a real eye opener.
Please pass my comments onto the Family, I think they are all amazing. Many people would have given up by now. Hang in there, your love will see him through.
xxxxxxxx
I have just watched the programme I taped last week and it made me cry. What an amazing family to stick by him. Regan is wise beyond his 10 years. I find it increduble that Cheryl stll wants to help him after their divorce. She is obviously no WAG and this programme showed her in a different light. Many women would have run a mile from Paul and his problems.
I hope he recovers and can appreciate the family who so clearly love him to pieces. There are no doubts thousands of Gazza’s out there who do not have the love of a strong family like this behind them. I pray, and I am not religious, that he recovers.
Please pass on my comments to his family, they are incredible.
Unfortunately this country is full of families like the one shown; but somehow the help offered to Gazza’s family seems unobtainable to most of us. I was probably one of tens of thousands watching who recognised from their own family life every bit of hope, despair, manipulation, that bloody endless ringing phone, the fear of what response is waiting, the wasted money, the emotional nightmare of having someone you love, someone who really is nice underneath the illness and you want to save. Ordinary families have continual problems of bailiffs, police visits, missing money and frequent threats of suicide too. It becomes even harder when some of the family recognise the need to walk away but others keep on with their quest to “save” (and usually without boundaries) and thus keep those who want to go continually caught in the trap. If only the addiction counselling support was available nationwide, if only the Government and alcohol retailers understood the alcoholics do not exist in a vacuum and act accordingly, life would get better for many more than just the helpless souls afflicted by this illness. Hopefully the decision of Gazza and his family to take part in this documentary will help others to see and understand what happens behind closed doors.
Question for dictionary corner:
What is the origin of the word ‘poltroon’ meaning a spiritless coward?
I was really moved by this documentary and can understand to a certain level what the family is going through. Mason is so lovely a really nice person, don’t give up on your dad, like you said he is just lost but he will find you. Have hope. As for the family I wish you all to be happy, and for Paul to aswell. It is not nice what some people say but ignore it and listen to your family and be there for themm which is what you are all doing. A remarkable documentary, thank you.
Leave a comment
* Required field.