Strangely, Paul ‘Gazza’ Gascoigne was there during a standoff between murderer Raoul Moat and police.
In The Hunt for Raoul Moat, ITV tells the tale of how one man ignited one of the largest manhunts in modern British history after killing one person and injuring two others in a two-day shooting spree.
The writers of the TV programme have opted to leave out Paul’s presence since it has ‘nothing to do’ with the tale they are conveying.
Producer Jake Lushington said: ‘What happened with Paul Gascoigne is nothing to do with the story we’re trying to tell and had no impact.’
They instead want to focus on correcting public perception, and avoiding trivialisation.
‘Paul Gascoigne was really not in a great position,’ screenwriter Kevin Sampson remarked. You’d have to evaluate your reasons and intentions in potentially bringing up someone who was going through a hard patch,’ according to Yahoo.
Instead, Paul will receive only a passing remark.
When authorities were attempting to negotiate a surrender from Moat, who claimed to be his brother, the former professional footballer showed up on the river bank.
He claimed to have brought him a can of lager, some chicken, a fishing rod, a Newcastle jersey, and a dressing gown, but he was denied entry.
He subsequently revealed that he was in the grip of an addiction at the time and went so high on cocaine that he believed himself he knew Moat.
He addressed the unusual choice at a ‘Evening with Paul Gascoigne’ appearance.
‘You’ve got to realise I’m half cut anyway, sitting in the living room, I’ve got about six lines [of cocaine] lined up.
He believes they are siblings after taking more of the Class-A medication.
‘I’ve had 14 lines now and he’s my brother,’ he recalled.
Paul spoke to his taxi driver his intentions. ‘I told him: “Listen, I have been through so much, I am the best therapist in the world, I can save him.”
‘I think that I genuinely believed that,’ he added to the Mirror.
He was released by police and awoke the next morning to ‘250 missed calls’ after his appearance on TV stations.
Raoul eluded police for seven days while expressing threats that he was prepared to hunt down cops in cold blood and would even do the same to members of the public.
The Hunt for Raoul Moat airs Sunday at 9pm on ITV.
