Paul Merson's huge Strictly fee goes straight to someone else after crippling addiction battles

The Arsenal and England legend is fighting to stay in the BBC dance competition having narrowly avoided elimination

Arsenal legend Paul Merson is fighting to stay in Strictly Come Dancing as the competition returns to our screens this weekend.

The former England international narrowly escaped elimination in Week 3 of the competition as he found himself in the dreaded dance-off. However, he survived to dance another week, with the judges electing to save him and send Toyah Willcox home instead.

However, regardless of what happens, Merson - while out of his comfort zone - is still enjoying the challenge, having overcome some incredibly tough personal battles in recent years.

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The pundit has spoken candidly about his struggles with gambling, alcohol and drugs over the years and hopes to inspire others suffering from addiction with his appearance on the hit BBC show.

"Being an addict and a recovering alcoholic myself... to show people watching this show who have got addictions, that you can go out and do something like this... is so important," he said. "Because addiction takes you away from everything. That’s all it ever does. It wants you on your own.

"Now I’m going in front of millions of people doing something I’m not very good at. I used to think, ‘I can’t do things like that’ but now I’ve got the opportunity to try."

Merson's problems with gambling and alcohol addition are well documented and he has been a keen campaigner for reforming the gambling industry, after struggling with an addiction he claims has cost him £7million over the last three decades.

He is now blocked from all betting companies, and says his wages, including the six-figure sum he will earn from appearing on Strictly, now go directly to his wife Kate in a bid to ensure he doesn't blow them on gambling.

He admitted that his struggles with gambling left him considering suicide "every day", telling talkSPORT that he only ever felt relieved when he "had nothing left".

"When I got to zero I was like, 'I don't have to do this any more'," he said. "How mad is that? I was playing at Aston Villa playing away at Charlton. No one ever shared a room with me because I was gambling and never slept in the afternoon and I wanted to break my fingers so I couldn't pick the phone up - that's how bad the compulsion was."

In another candid admission, he also revealed that his struggles continued during the Covid-19 lockdowns, as he gambled away a £160,000 deposit for a family home on table tennis bets.

Earlier this year, a proud Merson revealed he has been clean and sober from alcohol and drugs for five years, having also struggled with those addictions during his career. In 1994, he revealed in a press conference that he had a cocaine addiction, with the FA stepping in and sending him to rehab.

Writing in the Mail, he recalled how he would take drugs before training while his addiction also saw him hand over club merchandise to settle mounting debts.

"I started going to an all-night pub in Smithfield Market. Drinking on my own and snorting in the toilets," he wrote. "I'd hail a black cab at 8am to take me up to training and even have a couple of big hits sitting in the back.

"I had bookies chasing me, dealers chasing me. I settled one cocaine debt by handing over my Arsenal blazer and reporting it stolen. Paranoia took over."

After a playing career that saw him represent the Gunners and England as well as the likes of Middlesbrough, Aston Villa and Portsmouth, today Merson is happily married with an estimated net worth of around £12 million.

He celebrated eight years of marriage with his wife Kate this summer, with the couple having three children - son Freddie and two daughters Sienna and Sadie - together.

Merson had previously been married to his childhood sweetheart Lorraine Costin and had three sons with her before their marriage ended in 2001 when she discovered the extent of his gambling habits. His second marriage to Louise Bache, with whom he has twin daughters Mollie and Maisie, also ended due to his addiction issues, with the couple splitting in 2013.

Asked about his dance experience on the Strictly launch show, he remarked: 'I've danced three times - they were all at my weddings!"