Paul Gascoigne flashes a broad smile as he dines at swanky TOWIE hotspot Sheesh

Paul Gascoigne flashes a broad smile as he dines at swanky TOWIE hotspot Sheesh… after winning Channel 4’s Scared Of The Dark

Paul Gascoigne looked in high spirits as he dined at TOWIE hotspot, Sheesh, in Chigwell.

The footballing legend, 55, flashed a broad smile while sporting a funky cream shirt in a snap shared by the swanky Turkish restaurant on Tuesday.

Accessorising with round glasses and a dazzling gold watch, he held up a menu while posing for an Instagram post.

The caption read, ‘“GAZZA LEGEND COME ON” ….’

It comes after Paul was crowed the winner of Scared Of The Dark during the series finale on Thursday night.

Happy: Paul Gascoigne looked in high spirits as he dined at TOWIE hotspot, Sheesh, in Chigwell

High spirits: The Instagram post's caption read, '“GAZZA LEGEND COME ON” ….'

High spirits: The Instagram post’s caption read, ‘“GAZZA LEGEND COME ON” ….’

The retired sportsman survived eight days living in complete darkness and credited the experience for making him ‘a better person’ after he was electrocuted and shot in the ‘b******s’ during the show’s tough finale.

He beat fellow celebrities Scarlett Moffatt, Chris McCausland, Donna Preston, Chloe Burrows, Max George and Nicola Adams, after they voted him deserving of the title. 

Speaking after he win, Paul broken down in tears said: ‘People always question my mental strength but my success on this series proves that I am strong. 

‘I was nervous going in there but having got this far on the series made me the happiest man around. I’m so happy. It’s unbelievable. I’ve got my smile back.’ 

He added: ‘I’m a better person. I got electrocuted and got shot with a cannonball in the b******s. I f*****g fell backwards. I thought I was 50 foot up in the air and I went through all that. 

‘So to come out the other side and to be smiling, is such an amazing achievement and to win it is like the most unbelievable feeling, it’s just fantastic. 

‘I’m really honoured to have won but in my eyes, all my fellow Scared Of The Dark celebrities are winners. 

‘They all did really well and I really enjoyed spending those eight days getting to know them in the dark. We worked so well as a team.’

Swanky: Turkish restaurant Sheesh is pictured in 2011

Swanky: Turkish restaurant Sheesh is pictured in 2011

Congratulations: Paul was crowed the winner of Scared Of The Dark during the series finale on Thursday night

Congratulations: Paul was crowed the winner of Scared Of The Dark during the series finale on Thursday night

In the dramatic finale, the seven remaining celebrities faced challenges that tested their fears and strengths as they battled to remain in the bunker.

One final challenge saw Paul, Scarlett and Chris take a leap of faith into the unknown, as they plunged off a ledge, not knowing how far off the ground they were. 

Other tasks saw the sportsman get electrocuted as he battled to find a box in the dark during a previous episode and even shot by a cannonball. 

After hearing the news, the other contestants were elated, with Donna saying: ‘This journey for him has been really, really hard and I think he just needs to be really proud of himself.’

Chris added: ‘He just opened himself up and laid himself out for everyone to see,’ while Nicola said: ‘Paul you got my vote buddy.

‘The way that he has been so open about his emotion and talking about you know his mental health, I feel like that’s probably the most remarkable thing that’s happened,’ Chloe explained. 

Host Danny Dyer joked: ‘Oh let’s have a little cuddle and all. Come here, I’ve been dying for this.’

***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk