Paul Merson: Football, Gambling & Me

BBC One London

London

Simulcast of network BBC One in high definition. From 03/11/2010

BBC One HD

BBC One Cambridgeshire

BBC One Oxfordshire

BBC One Yorks & Lincs

The BBC South region started on 5th January 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South.

BBC One South

BBC One Channel Islands

The BBC West region started on 1st September 1957 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One West.

BBC One West

The BBC South West region started on 20th April 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South West.

BBC One South West

Formerly part of a wider BBC One South East region that included London and part of the South region. Separated from BBC One London 2001-09-03 following reorganisation of the South East region.

BBC One South East

BBC One Yorkshire

BBC One West Midlands

BBC One region covering Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.

BBC One East Midlands

The BBC North East & Cumbria region started in 1959 (tbc) as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One North East & Cumbria.

BBC One North East & Cumbria

The BBC East region started on 1st May 1959 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One East.

BBC One East

BBC One North West

BBC One Wales

Wales

BBC One Scotland

Scotland

BBC Northern Ireland region started on 19th April 1955 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One Northern Ireland.

BBC One Northern Ireland

Simulcast of BBC One Scotland in high definition. From 14/01/2013

BBC One Scotland HD

Simulcast of BBC One Wales in high definition. From 29/01/2013

BBC One Wales HD

Original version

Simulcast of BBC One Northern Ireland in high definition. From 24/10/2012

BBC One Northern Ireland HD

BBC Two

BBC Two England

England

Simulcast of network BBC Two in high definition.

BBC Two HD

Until 03/01/2009 BBC Two Wales (analogue) was known simply as BBC Two Wales. BBC Two Wales (digital) was BBC 2W. From 03/01/2009 BBC Two Wales schedules on both analogue and digital became identical

BBC Two Wales

BBC Two Northern Ireland

Simulcast of BBC Two Northern Ireland in high definition

BBC Two Northern Ireland HD

Simulcast of BBC Two Wales in high definition

BBC Two Wales HD

Paul Merson

Christian Collerton

Sophie Clayton-Payne

Paul Merson: Football, Gambling and Me

Documentaries

Factual: Health & Wellbeing

Sport: Football

BBC One - Paul Merson: Football, Gambling and Me

Footballer Paul Merson sets out to understand his 35-year addiction to gambling.

Former footballer Paul Merson sets out to understand why his life has been so blighted by gambling and asks if enough is being done to prevent others following in his footsteps.

Over the past 35 years, former Arsenal and England footballer Paul Merson has gambled away a fortune. In this programme, he sets out to understand why his life has been so badly blighted by gambling and explores the relationship between football and gambling at a time when it has never been more urgent to question the industry’s place in the world of sport.

Now on the path to recovery, he wants to understand what caused his addiction. Could it be the way his brain is wired, his environment or both? Paul sets out to meet old teammates, scientists and psychologists to see if he can get close to finding the answer. He starts by meeting former Arsenal teammate Wes Reid. When they received their first pay cheques as Arsenal trainees, Paul and Wes went to the bookies, and Paul lost his entire week’s wages in 15 minutes, kicking off a 35-year struggle with gambling. 

Paul also meets footballers Keith Gillespie, John Hartson and Scott Davies, who between them gambled away £15 million, and he visits the families of three men who took their own lives as a result of gambling addiction. At Imperial College London, he talks to Dr David Erritzoe, a consultant psychiatrist whose team of researchers are mapping the brain, trying to pinpoint the neurobiological basis of gambling addiction so that new treatments can be developed. 

As the government considers whether gambling laws should be reformed to protect those addicted to gambling, Paul wonders if an entire generation of young Brits is at risk of following the same dangerous path that he trod. Advertising and sponsorship by betting firms have exploded in recent years, with more than a third of English Premier League clubs promoting gambling companies on their shirts.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Paul Merson: Football, Gambling and Me

Contributors

Genres

Formats

BBC One Northern Ireland HD

About BBC One