Former footballer Paul Gascoigne has won the first season of Channel 4 reality show Scared of the Dark?.

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The show, hosted by EastEnders alum Danny Dyer, challenged eight celebrity contestants to spend 180 hours in total darkness, while completing challenges to earn rewards.

The series spanned five episodes in total which put the psychological strength of each participant to the test, with tonight's finale revealing that Gascoigne had been chosen as the winner.

On hearing the news, he said: “People always question my mental strength but my success on this series proves that I am strong. I was nervous going in there but having got this far on the series made me the happiest man around.

"I’m so happy. It’s unbelievable. I’ve got my smile back. I’m a better person. I got electrocuted and got shot with a cannonball in the bollocks. I f**king fell backwards. I thought I was 50 foot up in the air and I went through all that."

Gascoigne continued: "So to come out the other side and to be smiling is such an amazing achievement, and to win it is like the most unbelievable feeling, it’s just fantastic.

Paul Gascoigne wins Scared of the Dark?
Paul Gascoigne wins Scared of the Dark?

"I’m really honoured to have won but in my eyes, all my fellow Scared of the Dark celebrities are winners. They all did really well and I really enjoyed spending those eight days getting to know them in the dark. We worked so well as a team."

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The other Scared of the Dark? contestants included Olympic boxer Nicola Adams, Love Island's Chloe Burrows, The Wanted singer Max George, comedian Chris McCausland, television personality Scarlett Moffatt, and actor Donna Preston.

Chris Eubank also participated in the series, but quit the show partway through.

Catch up on Scared of the Dark on All 4. Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on tonight.

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Authors

David Craig
David CraigSenior Drama Writer

David Craig is the Senior Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest and greatest scripted drama and comedy across television and streaming. Previously, he worked at Starburst Magazine, presented The Winter King Podcast for ITVX and studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield.

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