Paul Gascoigne on his recovery: 'People text me to ask if I'm dead'

The former England star has addressed his struggle and determination to stay off alcohol

Paul Gascoigne has said his friends have text him to ask if he is dead during his ongoing struggle with alcoholism.

The former England footballer, 48, has been in and out of rehab for over two decades. He appeared on Good Morning Britain on Wednesday where he told his hosts Susannah Reid and Piers Morgan that he is now “back to my best”, weeks after worrying pictures of him with cuts to his face emerged.

Gascoigne dismissed the photos as nothing more than a “blip” in his recovery but said seeing images of his most recent relapse motivated his attempts to stay off alcohol.

”After that last one [relapse] I said to someone, 'God I'm glad the papers didn't get hold of it' and then they sent us a photo and I went, 'oof',“ he sid.

”Sometimes that helps seeing us that way because I didn't realise I was in... When I'm actually in it, I don't realise how bad I actually am.”

Gascoigne told Morgan he has only been in rehab “really seriously” for alcohol three times. “Where I live ... a lot of people who have this addiction are allowed to get on with it.

”I'm doing all right, you mentioned there so many times in rehab but people forget I've been there for Red Bull, I've been for Calpol, I've been for no reason sometimes. I think I've only been in rehab really seriously three times for the drink side of it."

Gascoigne pleaded guilty to assaulting a photographer and harassing his ex-girlfriend in October. He is now being treated by the Providence Project, a private rehab centre in Bournemouth, where he said support from staff is “fantastic”.

He insisted comparisons between him and the late footballer George Best were unfair, telling Morgan: “He's passed away, I'm still here.

”Years ago when I used to relapse, often when I first finished playing football, I used to blame everybody for my relapse.

“Today I don't do it. I blame myself. I don't like it when I do, I'm not like George Best [...], they didn't want to stop - I do want to stop and there have been good periods where I've been happy and now I'm back to being really happy and myself.”

However, he claimed the attention his recovery has attracted led one member of the public to approach him and tell him she thought he was dead.

He added: “The funny thing, I get texts: ‘Gazza, are you dead?’”