BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Paul Merson addresses heartbreaking reason 'he signed up for show'

Paul Merson has shared a heartbreaking real reason he signed up to Strictly Come Dancing - after he was axed. The Sky Sports pundit, who is a former Arsenal and Aston Villa FC star, was voted off the BBC favourite this weekend.

Merse, 56, is the latest celebrity to be axed from Strictly following a tense dance off with JLS star JB Gill. In the wake of his exit, the 56-year-old spoke out on It Takes Two, the BBC spin-off, on Monday night (October 21) alongside pro partner Karen Hauer.

Sitting alongside his Strictly pro partner Karen, Paul touched upon his former addiction to drugs, alcohol and gambling. Paul has overcome his demons and hopes his appearance on Strictly will show other addicts that "anything can happen".

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Paul said: "It's nice. I've had a lot of messages, which is nice. You know, my thing when it first started off, one was for my mum because of what she did, but the other thing was to help people who struggle with addiction badly, because it takes away your life, addiction.

"Just to show people that anything can happen. You can go and do anything when you stop doing something that keeps on ruining your life." Merse went on and added to Fleur East: "And Karen was a big part of that, which I'm very grateful for."

Paul and Karen, wo hails from Venezuela in South America, bid farewell to the show as the latest couple eliminated on Sunday evening after losing their dance-off against JLS singer JB Gill and Amy Dowden, who returned to the show this year following her cancer fight.

The former Arsenal midfielder's stint in the BBC competition had been the topic of discussion ever since he first stepped foot in the ballroom, with the judges and fans alike predicting an early exit.