Paul Gascoigne has revealed he will use his fishing skills to supply food for his fellow campmates for the Italian take on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
The football legend, 53, was recently self-isolating in a Milan hotel ahead of jetting off to Hondouras to take part in Italy‘s take on the show called Isola de Famosi – which is not affiliated with ITV’s UK version.
Speaking to The Sun, Paul, who arrived in Honduras on Wednesday night, reckons he can use his skills to win over his fellow celebrities.
Plan: Paul Gascoigne has revealed he will use his fishing skills to supply food for his fellow campmates for the Italian take on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
Paul has long been a keen fisher and is hoping his days spent by the waterside will come in handy when the show kicks off on March 15.
Asked what he can offer his 14 fellow campers, Paul said: ‘I’m good at fishing,’ before adding: ‘My best quality is that I can make people laugh and I’m always laughing.’
A source said: ‘Paul is in top form. He told producers he has spent lockdown in England keeping fit by running and cycling, and it’s certainly paid off.
‘He looks phenomenal and has a physique any man half his age would be proud of.’
Show: Paul, who arrived in Honduras on Wednesday night, reckons he can use his skills to win over his fellow celebrities
It was Paul’s love of fishing that convinced him he could help ‘save’ one of Britain’s most wanted men, Raoul Moat in 2010.
It was 11-years-ago, when Moat had a standoff with Northumberland Police, that the former England star claimed he was most vulnerable with his addiction battle and said he had been in a taxi with a fishing rod and four cans of lager.
However, police denied Paul access to Moat, who shot himself.
Paul, who passed a series of mental and physical tests for the show, recently claimed he was banned from joining the cast of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Here! after failing a psych test back in 2009.
Travel: Paul was recently self-isolating in a Milan hotel ahead of jetting off to Hondouras to take part in Italy’s take on the show called Isola de Famosi – which is not affiliated with ITV’s UK version
He told The Sun: ‘I did interviews for I’m A Celebrity in the UK but they pre-judged me. They wanted to sign me for the show, but when it came to speaking to the psychiatrist they really p***ed me off.
‘She asked me, “Why do you want to do the show?” and I said, “I want people to see the real Paul Gascoigne”. But she said, “People don’t want to see that, they want to see you in arguments”. That really p****ed me off.
‘I wasn’t happy about that. And the questions she asked me were ridiculous. She was asking me if I knew where I was, and I said London, and “whereabouts, what can you see”. I’m not dealing with stupid questions like that.’
The sportsman’s interview comes after he revealed that he’s back on the booze amid his battle with alcoholism, confessing: ‘I’ll always be an alcoholic.’
Paul said: ‘I’m good at fishing,’ before adding: ‘My best quality is that I can make people laugh and I’m always laughing’ (pictured with his campmates)
Former England player Gazza admitted he now enjoys having ‘a couple of glasses of wine… and a few beers’.
Paul told The Sun: ‘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.’
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 recently claimed he was banned from joining the cast of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Here! after failing a psych test back in 2009
His admission comes after it was reported that Paul is studying Italian ahead of his stint on his upcoming reality show.
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.
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.’
Back on the booze: Paul previously revealed that he’s back on the booze amid his battle with alcoholism, confessing: ‘I’ll always be an alcoholic’
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.
Paul’s 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.
Gazza has headed 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.
Enjoying life: The sports star admitted he now enjoys having: ‘a couple of glasses of wine… and a few beers’ (Pictured in 2018)
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 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.
Ciao! Paul is reportedly studying Italian ahead of his stint on the show
The ex-Newcastle and Spurs midfielder was 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.
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