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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Nicola Methven

Paul Gascoigne tells stunned celebs he found Margaret Thatcher 'sexually arousing'

Paul Gascoigne has opened up on an odd encounter with former Prime Minister, Magaret Thatcher and revealed he couldn't contain himself.

The footballing legend also signed up for Scared of the Dark when he was told Danny Dyer was involved - but didn’t realise he was the presenter rather than a fellow contestant.

“He didn’t know I was the host,” Dyer laughed. “He was like, ‘Ah, f**king hell, I don’t know if I want to do it now.’ You think he’s not going to last a half hour, but let me tell you something now, he’s got an amazing journey in there.”

The football star, 55, stuns the group in the first episode when he tells a story about going to meet Margaret Thatcher at 10, Downing Street and finding her so sexually arousing that he has to disappear to the loo for a while.

Paul Gascoigne shared a rather startling revelation on Scared of the Dark (Jonathan Ford / Channel 4)

Eubank, who already hates all the swearing going on around him, is particularly unimpressed by this story.

But Gazza has got many anecdotes to tell - including one in which he reveals he once sat next to a dead man on a flight for nine hours and another when he went to Colonel Gaddafi’s house and there was a bomb in the living room.

The former England star says he has plenty of fears including snakes, heights and flying but believes he’s mentally strong enough to get through this ordeal. “People keep saying, ‘You’ve got more lives than a cat.’

"That’s because I have. I’ve had near-death experiences, I’ve had 36 operations, I’ve died a couple of times, and they’ve put me in a coma for 18 days. So I’ve come through all that, so hopefully, this’ll be a little bit easier.”

Paul Gascoigne admits he struggled to compose himself after meeting Margaret Thatcher (PA)
Paul met Margaret Thatcher at 10 Downing Street in 1990 after the England squad reached the semi-finals of the World Cup (PA Archive/PA Images)

The reformed alcoholic says he’ll be keeping a positive outlook. “I’m not a sad person. I always look forward to every day. I’ll definitely have a laugh, try and keep everyone’s spirits up. Not the ones I used to drink…”

He plans to exercise to pass the time. “I’ll probably work out in the dark,

I’ll do some sit-ups and some squats and stuff like that.” And if that doesn’t work, he’s got one other plan up his sleeve. “I might spend 24/7 on the toilet. At least you know where you are.”

Even though it’s pitch black, he’s still keen to impress the ladies.

“Obviously, there must be girls going in there, so I don’t want to be embarrassing myself in front of girls. I want to be a macho man.”

But Paul isn't scared of walking in on people on the toilet in the dark, admitting: "I don't give a s**t, when you've put your arm around Maggie Thatcher and you've kissed Princess Diana...

"I was at Wembley not long ago and Prince William was there, and I just went over, climbed a couple of seats at Wembley and kissed him. He went, 'Hi, Gazza' and I gave him a kiss and just went back to my seat."

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