Paul Gascoigne announces new biopic exploring everything from his humble Gateshead upbringing to the height of his fame as ‘Gazza’

While sharing the news that his upcoming biopic is in production, Paul Gascoigne announced that his life story will be told on screen.

The 58-year-old former footballer plans to give viewers a personal perspective on his journey, chronicling his humble upbringing to become one of Gateshead’s best attacking midfielders in the country.

The six-episode drama is already underway, with producers auditioning actors to portray his family, including the roles of his three siblings Carl, Lindsay and Anna.

The series Without Borders will also explore the lowest points of Paul’s addiction and the periods he spent in treatment centers both at home and abroad.

Sports icon told Mirror: ‘Basically Gazza: Life Story. My sisters Anna and Lindsay are doing screen tests for the roles of my brother Carl and my mother Carol.

The 58-year-old former footballer plans to give viewers a personal insight into his journey, depicting the Gateshead man’s humble upbringing to become one of the best attacking midfielders in the country (pictured in 1990)

‘My mother was always supporting me and telling me what to do. Since my father was always working, he came to parent-teacher meetings and watched me play football.

He added: ‘But it was my dad who bought me a ball when I was seven and from then on it was at my feet.’

Appearing on Good Morning Britain last week, Paul described the harrowing incident in his childhood when a young boy died in his arms.

The tragic incident happened when she was just 10 years old, while looking after her friend’s eight-year-old younger brother, who was hit by a car.

The boy ran ahead of Paul after they went to the shops.

Recalling the heartbreaking incident, a visibly emotional Paul told his hosts: ‘His friend’s little brother didn’t go to the boys’ club and I said I’d look after him. He was only eight years old and I was 10.[friendyoungerbrotherwouldn’tgototheboys’clubandIsaidI’dlookafterhimHewasonlyeightandIwas10[friendyoungerbrotherwouldn’tgototheboys’clubandIsaidI’dlookafterhimHewasonlyeightandIwas10

‘We walked out of the shop and I said, ‘Quick, come on, run, let’s go.’ He ran a meter in front of us and the car hit him.

‘I ran and he died in my arms. I thought he was still alive because his lips were moving a little. “He’s fine, he’s breathing,” I said, but he wasn’t. “This was his last act.”

The series Without Borders will also explore the lowest points of Paul’s addiction and his periods in treatment centers both here and abroad.

The sports icon told The Mirror: ‘This is essentially Gazza: His Life Story. My sisters Anna and Lindsay are doing screen tests for the roles of my brother Carl and my mother Carol.

Paul is seen playing for Ranger against Steaua Bucharest at Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow, Scotland, in July 1995.

The former Newcastle and Tottenham midfielder further elaborated that he couldn’t leave the boy’s side even when he was in his coffin.

‘I took him out of the coffin at 10pm and I remember he was freezing.

‘When the coffin was gone, I went back to them and stayed in the same room for a week. I was only 10 years old and I was staying in the same room with a coffin; “It was terrible.”

Football consoled Paul and helped him distract from this harrowing experience, which he says he now misses very much.

‘I was met with noises and twitching and told him I refused to see him anymore,’ he continued.

‘When I started to get really interested in football I started to take my mind off everything.

I am sad. I went every night. I brought a ball with us. I slept with football.

‘Playing the game saved you from this nightmare. I was looking forward to Saturday because those 90 minutes were my time on the pitch when I was on the pitch where I thought I was very good.’

Earlier last week, the former midfielder opened up about a harrowing incident from his childhood in which a young boy died in his arms during an appearance on Good Morning Britain.

The former England midfielder was promoting his book Eight on the ITV show on Monday.

During his appearance, the field star admitted that he still drinks alcohol as he continues to struggle with addiction and mental health issues since his retirement more than 20 years ago.

In his new book, Eight, Gazza describes his personal struggle with alcoholism and his ongoing attempts to stay sober.

An emotional appearance appeared on GMB on Monday morning to promote the autobiography and inspire others struggling with addiction to get help.

But during a candid 10-minute interview with hosts Susanna Reid and Richard Madeley, he admitted he drank occasionally and had to rejoin Alcoholics Anonymous (AA).

“I can go months and months without bothering, then have a two-day outage and then the consequences,” Gascoigne said. ‘Then I don’t like myself for a few days.

‘I get so unhappy and then I have to go to an AA meeting and just listen because you wonder what it is. ‘I only realized I was an alcoholic when I went to AA meetings.’