Former footballer Paul Gascoigne’s father warned him he would die soon after him if he didn’t change his ways, shortly before he passed away from cancer.
The retired England star, 50, today spoke of his father, John’s, death from cancer aged 72 in February.
Fighting back tears, Gascoigne said: ‘Three months ago. Christmas. My dad wasn’t well, I didn’t take that well because I’m really close to my dad. He passed away.
‘With my dad’s sense of humour, it was funny because I said to him, “Dad, you’re not going to pass away are you?” And he said, “The way you’re going you won’t be far behind us”.’
Former footballer Paul Gascoigne spoke about his father’s death when he appeared on ITV’s Loose Women this afternoon
He added: ‘I was going to go home for Christmas, but I decided to check myself in [to rehab] for a few weeks just to make sure I was OK.’
He added: ‘If I feel like I drink, normally I ring a sponsor or go to a meeting, this time I decided not to and just go and make sure I was OK for him [his dad]. I went in [to rehab] on the 2nd of December. I went in for a few weeks. Then I went up to see my dad, made sure he was OK. He was struggling a little bit.
‘I thought, the way he was, and if he was going to pass away, a drink would never bring him back anyway. That’s what I was thinking all the time.’
Speaking of other addictions, Paul revealed: ‘I got addicted to Calpol. What was embarrassing [was] when I went to rehab and people were in for this and that, they asked, ‘What you in for?’ I said Calpol… everyone started laughing.’
Gascoigne revealed that his father told him ‘you won’t be far behind us’ before his death. He was comforted by actress Linda Robson as he struggled to speak about his father’s passing
Gascoigne, with his Sports Book of the Year award for ‘Gazza: My Story’, poses with his father John in London in April 2005
Show presenter Christine Lampard, the wife of former player Frank Lampard, told Gascoigne her husband still talks about the day he met him.
Ms Lampard challenged Gascoigne over a tweet he sent earlier this week which appeared to compare the Loose Women panel to an overweight version of Disney’s Ariel.
She said: ‘I want to draw attention to the tweets that you wrote this week about Loose Women. It wasn’t just the words, it was an actual picture!’
Gascoigne laughed off the challenge, saying: ‘It’s different from the girls that were on yesterday.’
Ms Lampard replied: ‘We’ll let you get away with it.’
Gascoigne was asked about this tweet that he posted earlier this week. He joked that it was not a reference to today’s panel on the show
Gascoigne appeared with Linda Robson, Jane Moore, Stacey Solomon and Christine Lampard
Asked if he’s considered coaching youth teams in football, he said: ‘I did that. I was doing my badges at Newcastle and I did my knee in when I was trying to show someone a trick – that didn’t work. Three months later I went back and I did my hip in. So I thought I’ll leave it.
‘Sometimes it’s hard to watch football now as well. When you see a player score a goal and he doesn’t really celebrate. If I was a young kid growing up and I’d see that it would turn me off football. It’s a shame to see that.’
Gascoigne’s father John and wife Carol raised Paul and his three siblings at a council home in Gateshead.
Illness forced him to quit work when Gascoigne was nine and he ended up on benefits.
When Gascoigne became an international football star, he showed his gratitude by showering him with gifts – including a £70,000 Rolls Royce.