Paul Merson's fee for appearing on The Great Celebrity Pottery Throw Down goes directly to his wife, Kate, as the Arsenal icon continues to manage a gambling addiction that he says has cost him £7 million over the past 30 years.
Merson, 58, lost the final of the Channel 4 show last Sunday. A significant portion of any money owed to him will have been paid to his spouse, who handles most of the couple's financial affairs to help stave off his past temptations.
Career and advocacy
The former midfielder won two league titles, an FA Cup and the League Cup with Arsenal. He now works as a broadcaster and pundit, but has spoken openly about his gambling struggles, which began with his first wager at age 16 and led to a dependency on gambling and cocaine.
Merson is barred from all betting firms and has said his earnings, including any fee from the pottery show, go directly to his wife to prevent him from squandering them. He has also disclosed that he attends Gamblers Anonymous meetings and regularly seeks guidance from specialists.
Relapse during pandemic
Merson has admitted to slipping back into gambling in recent years. During the summer of 2020, while furloughed from his role on Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday, he blew £160,000 saved for a house deposit on table tennis bets during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"My anxiety kicked in and I thought, 'They're not going to have Soccer Saturday anymore'. I was thinking, 'I'm not going to be able to earn anything,'" he told The Sun in 2022. "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 £8,000 on a table tennis player."
Calls for stricter controls
Drawing from his own experiences, Merson has insisted betting firms must do more to track problem gamblers and intervene. "I think they've got to take it in their hands," he told The Mirror in 2023. "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."
Merson previously told talkSPORT he wanted to break his own fingers to stop himself placing a bet, illustrating the helplessness he has felt. "The addiction is so overwhelming, it's scary what it does," he said. "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."
