Paul Gascoigne is crowned Scared Of The Dark winner!
Paul Gascoigne is crowned the winner of Scared Of The Dark! Former footballer says he is ‘a better person’ after being electrocuted and ‘shot in the b******s’ during show’s emotional finale
Paul Gascoigne was declared the winner of Scared Of The Dark during the series finale on Thursday night.
The former footballer, 55, survived eight days living in complete darkness and credited the experience with making him ‘a better person’ after he was electrocuted and shot in the ‘b******s’ during the heavy finale of the show.
He defeated fellow celebrities Scarlett Moffatt, Chris McCausland, Donna Preston, Chloe Burrows, Max George and Nicola Adams after they earned him the title.
After his victory, Paul burst into tears and said, “People always doubt my mental strength, but my success in this series proves that I am strong.
“I was nervous going in there, but now that I’ve come this far in the series, I’m the happiest guy alive. I’m so happy. It’s unbelievable. I have my smile back.’
Congratulations: Paul Gascoigne, 55, was declared the winner of Scared Of The Dark at the series finale on Thursday night
Good job: He beat fellow celebrities Scarlett Moffatt, Chris McCausland, Donna Preston, Chloe Burrows, Max George and Nicola Adams, after they earned him the title
He added, “I’m a better person. I was electrocuted and shot with a cannonball in the ass. I fell backwards. I thought I was 50 feet in the air and I’ve been through all of that.
“So to come out on the other side and smile is such an amazing achievement and to win is like the most incredible feeling, it’s just fantastic.
“I’m really honored 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 getting to know those eight days in the dark. We worked pretty well as a team.’
In the dramatic finale, the seven remaining celebrities faced challenges that tested their fears and strengths as they fought to stay in the bunker.
A final challenge saw Paul, Scarlett and Chris take a leap of faith into the unknown, as they plummeted off a ledge, unaware of how far off the ground they were.
In other tasks, the sportsman was electrocuted while fighting to find a box in the dark during a previous episode and even got shot by a cannonball.
After hearing the news, the other contestants were elated, with Donna saying, “This journey for him has been very, very difficult and I think he should just be really proud of himself.”
Proud: After his victory, Paul said: ‘People always doubt my mental strength, but my success in this series proves that I am strong’
Amazing: “I was nervous going in there, but now that I’ve come this far in the series, I’m the happiest guy alive. I’m so happy. It’s unbelievable. I’ve got my smile back,” he gushed
Chris added, “He just opened himself up and lay down for everyone to see,” while Nicola said, “Paul, you’ve got my voice buddy.”
“The way he’s been so open about his emotions and talking about you, knowing his mental health, I feel like that’s probably the most remarkable thing that’s happened,” Chloe explained.
Host Danny Dyer quipped, “Oh, let’s have a little cuddle and stuff.” Come here, I’ve been craving this so much.’
The last episode of Scared of the Dark airs tonight at 9pm on Channel 4. Follow all five episodes on All4.