Strictly’s Paul Merson reveals incredible weight loss as he admits he is the lightest he has been in 20 years

Paul Merson has revealed his incredible weight loss since starting Strictly Come Dancing last month.

The former England star, 56, admitted he is at his lightest weight in 20 years after coming close to second after four weeks on the show.

Speak with The sunthe sports star joked that he has to stay in the competition because he has not yet reached his target weight.

He explained: ‘My aim was to get well below 14th before I left Strictly, and I’m now 14th – I haven’t been that light for 20 years.’

Paul and his partner Karen Hauer were in the dance competition against Toyah Wilcox and Neil Jones during week three of the competition.

He explained: ‘My aim was to get well below 14th before I left Strictly, and I’m now 14th – I haven’t been that light in 20 years.’

However, all four judges chose to save Paul and the star returned the following week to prove himself after surprising the judges with his Quickstep to I Won’t Dance by Fred Astaire.

Discussing his dance-off experience, he added: ‘So when I was in the dance-off I thought, “I’m 14st and 3lbs – I’ve got to stay!” So it’s not about staying in to win, I just want to lose more weight.

“If I work hard this week I should get below 14th.”

Paul was third in the rankings last week and admitted that with Toyah out he will have to fight for his place in the competition as the standard is so high this year.

The star previously revealed that his other motive for doing Strictly was to inspire those who have suffered from addiction.

Despite his success on the pitch at Arsenal, Paul battled demons at the height of his career in the 1990s and his drinking, drug and gambling addictions spiraled out of control.

He admitted that When he was in the grips of his addiction, the idea of ​​taking part in Strictly didn’t even seem like a possibility as all he could focus on was drinking, drugs and gambling.

The athlete’s addiction was so brutal that he managed to waste a staggering £7million.

Despite being a successful sports star, Paul has not always stayed fit since leaving the field

Paul and his partner Karen Hauer were in the dance competition against Toyah Wilcox and Neil Jones during week three of the competition

Discussing his dance-off experience, he added: ‘So when I was in the dance-off I thought, “I’m 14st and 3lbs – I’ve got to stay!” So it’s not about staying in to win, I just want to lose more weight.”

Speak with The daily mirrorhe said, “Being an addict myself and a recovering alcoholic… to show people who watch this show who have addictions that you can go out and do something like this… is so important.”

‘Because addiction takes you away from everything. That’s all it ever does. It wants you to be alone.”

Paul now hopes his story of addiction and recovery can inspire others as he prepares to hit the dance floor.

He added, “Now I’m going to get in front of millions of people and do something I’m not very good at. I used to think, ‘I can’t do that kind of thing,’ but now I have the chance to try.”