Why Paul Merson's six-figure Strictly salary will go straight to someone else

Former footballing legend Paul Merson will take to the Strictly dancefloor for the first time next weekend after the show's launch. But his six-figure earnings for taking part on the BBC show will be going straight to someone else.

Known for his time at Arsenal, Aston Villa, and playing for England, as well as his punditry work, Merson expressed enthusiasm about the new direction his career is taking. "Joining Strictly is a whole new ball game for me," he declared. "But I'm going to tackle this challenge head on. I'm ready to swap the pitch for the ballroom floor, so here's hoping my two left feet can learn some moves and you never know, maybe I'll be taking home the Glitterball Trophy."

Merson is also known for his advocacy for changes in gambling laws, a conviction born from his own battle with a gambling addiction, which he says has cost him £7m across three decades, reports Wales Online.

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Taking positive steps towards recovery, he has now been barred from all betting platforms and reveals that his earnings, including what he will receive for his appearance on Strictly - a substantial six-figure fee - are directly transferred to his wife Kate. This strategy helps prevent any splurging on gambling.

On top of this financial safeguard, Merson regularly attends Gamblers' Anonymous meetings and seeks advice from specialists to help maintain his sobriety from gambling. Now 54, the ex-midfielder recalls placing his first bet at just 16, a decision that led him down a treacherous path of gambling and cocaine addiction, resulting in two failed marriages.

He recently confessed to falling back into gambling, squandering £160,000 intended for a house deposit on table tennis bets during the Covid pandemic. In summer 2020, he was furloughed from his role on Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday.

Despite initially enjoying more time with his young children and third wife Kate, the anxiety brought on by the pandemic saw him relapse into old habits. "My anxiety kicked in and I thought, 'They're not going to have Soccer Saturday any more'. I was thinking, 'I'm not going to be able to earn anything'. My older kids' mums have houses and I want to give my younger kids a future," he shared with The Sun.

"Kate and I had £160,000 saved up and I blew it in a few bets. It was all online, but it wasn't a bookmaker, it was a private bookie. My last bet was eight grand on a table tennis player. I didn't have a particular knowledge of table tennis but everything was locked down at that point, so there wasn't much to bet on.

"When I got to that point it was just a total chase-up to try and get my money back, which is a prime example of a compulsive gambler. That was my last eight grand but when I'm in the grip of it, I lose all sense of rationale."

He expressed in an interview with The Mirror last year, he said bookmakers should thoroughly track those with gambling issues and intervene where necessary. "I think they've got to take it in their hands," he said.

"Not keep on leaving it with the compulsive gambler. Don't throw it onto them. They need to take control. They can't just use that 'when the fun stops, stop' because an addict isn't going to do that."

"You know when someone's not having fun - 90 bets a day, 60 bets a day, 15 deposits a day. The limits need to be set for these people, because they won't set a limit themselves. The only time they're ever going to stop is when everything is gone. They're not going to stop until their bank account is at zero."

While speaking on talkSPORT radio, Merson openly shared his struggles with gambling, even confessing he'd thought of self-harm to prevent further betting. "The addiction is so overwhelming, it's scary what it does... you don't see the risk factor. If you put your hand in a fire and went to do it again your brain would tell you 'don't do that again.' With addictions the brain doesn't tell you that. The addiction wants you on your own... that's where it's dangerous."

"You start gambling and drinking, you don't come home at night, you start losing all the money, you're losing everything, you're letting people down around you so you hate yourself. Your self-worth and self-respect goes out the window and you hate yourself with a passion."

"You then think 'how am I going to get myself out of this? I know what I'll do, I'll start drinking and gambling again'. And you do it all again. When you don't realise that you're an ill person it's a horrible place to be."

"The only time I felt relived was when I had nothing left. When I got to zero I was like 'I don't have to do this any more.' 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."