Former England footballer Paul Gascoigne has lived a rollercoaster life and has rarely ever been shy to tell all.
The 55-year-old, who is often referred to as Gazza, has been the centre of media attention and fascination for a number of years, often for good and controversial reasons.
Father to Bianca, Regan and Mason, Paul's life has continued to stay in the limelight with his trauma taking centre stage.
READ MORE: Chris Eubank quits Channel 4's Scared of the Dark after explosive bust up with castmates
But without a doubt, the former Newcastle United player has left fans stunned and also made them laugh with his shocking confessions.
So as the father-of-three turns 56 today, Daily Star has taken a look at some of his wildest confessions.
Margaret Thatcher admission
While appearing on Channel 4's Scared of the Dark, Gazza made a startling confession that shocked his fellow celebrity contestants and viewers alike.
Unable to see the celebs while talking to them on the show, Gazza revealed that he felt aroused when he met former late Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Talking candidly he said: "Do you want a sexy story? I may get myself in trouble here. When I went to 10 Downing Street, I put my arm round Maggie Thatcher."
The star then claimed how Mrs Thatcher left him in an aroused state where he felt he had no other choice but to relieve himself.
Following his admission, fellow Scared of the Dark contestant Chris Eubank responded by going into a private room and described his story as "muck" to the show's producers.
Bus hijack
Back in the day, the former footballer famously hijacked Middlesbrough's brand-new team coach and crashed it just hours before a match.
The England international, who played for Middlesbrough at the time, was waiting to make the trip to Aston Villa with his teammates.
However, he made the quick decision to take the bus for a spin after he noticed that the keys had been left in the ignition.
Manager of Middlesbrough at the time Bryan Robson revealed the crazy ordeal about the footballer in the book, Our Gazza: The Untold Tales.
He said: "It was a brand-new bus that the club had purchased. Gazza couldn't resist it because it was so new and had that lovely 'new vehicle' smell. He intended to drive to the local bookies to put some bets on, but he didn't get out of the training ground.
"Instead, he went headlong into a big rock. When he came into my office all sheepish-looking after the incident I told him I hoped all his horses would come in first because he was paying for the damage to the coach and would be forking out two weeks' wages in a fine.
"I knew when I signed him he would be up to something but I suppose not many managers have had to punish a player for crashing the team coach."
Calpol addiction
While appearing on Scared of the Dark, Paul also made a confession regarding his battles with addiction.
Speaking openly to his co-stars about his previous drug and alcohol addiction, Gazza claimed he visited chemists in Newcastle and pretended to have nine children so he could purchase multiple bottles of Calpol.
"I was going round chemists and saying 'listen I didn't want to tell anyone but I've got nine kids. I need Calpol'.
"They said 'nine kids? What you doing with nine kids?' I went 'yeah but don't tell me family because it costs a lot of money in maintenance'."
'Borrowed' an ostrich
From 1988- 1992, Gazza played for London football team, Tottenham Hotspur where he was often known for his pranks and banter.
In the book Our Gazza: The Untold Tales, team mate Paul Stewart described a time when he decided to take an ostrich from a zoo.
He said: "Gazza was late. As always, the boss was asking me where he was, like I was his minder.
"Just as I was about to make an excuse, Gazza turned up with someone alongside him, carrying a brown sack.
"The sack was moving as if something was in it, and just as Venners was about to rollick Gazza for being late, the bag was opened and an ostrich ran out wearing a Spurs shirt.
Swimming with lobsters
The former England sportsman previously revealed that he decided to fish for his own lobster while out at a fancy restaurant.
In 2021 the stat confessed that after he had chosen his fish to eat, he then sat dripping wet at the table.
He said: "I went to a posh restaurant and ordered lobster because I’d seen they had a massive lobster tank.
"I pointed to the one I wanted but they were taking so long I thought 'What are they doing? I’ll just get it myself.'
"So I dived into the tank in my best suit."
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