Bare-knuckle boxer Paddy Doherty’s gypsy life – from huge secret to family tragedies

Celebrity Big Brother winner and star of My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding and When Paddy Met Sally, Paddy Doherty is back on TV screens – this time fronting a travel show – but what do we know about the former bare knuckle boxer?

Dan’s Travels with Paddy Doherty – Malta and Gozo is Paddy’s latest project to hit our TV screens and it’s completely different to anything he’s done before.

The eight-part series takes audiences – and his travel companion, actor-director Daniel Coll – on a journey across the stunning Maltese Islands of Malta and Gozo.

From the sun-kissed streets of Valletta to the hidden wonders of Gozo, the duo explore the islands ‘ rich history, breath-taking landscapes and incredible local characters. And it promises to be an entertaining watch! “This was an adventure like no other”! Paddy says.

“Malta and Gozo are absolutely unreal – full of surprises, brilliant people, and the best food you’ll ever taste. We had some mad moments filming this, and I can’t wait for people to see it”!

Paddy has come a long way for a boy who never went to school. Born in Manchester to Irish traveller parents who moved around a lot, he was sent to live with his sister when he was a teenager. However, his ‘ sister ‘ turned out to be his mother, but it had been kept secret as she wasn’t married when she became pregnant.

Paddy made his TV debut when he was one of the Irish Travellers interviewed for the documentary My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding. In 2011 Doherty took part in Celebrity Big Brother 8 winning the series and beating Kerry Katona in the final stages.

He then went on to appear in a two-part Channel 5 documentary with his former Big Brother housemate Sally Bercow, wife of the Speaker of the House of Commons called When Paddy Met Sally. Bercow moved into Doherty’s chalet on his travellers ‘ site, living by his rules in episode one and hers in episode two.

But it’s not always been plainsailing for Paddy Doherty who considered suicide twice in 2019 as the pain from prostate cancer was so bad. He also has a son who was jailed for killing his best friend. Already disqualified and driving without insurance, David crashed his Mitsubishi Shogun into a Renault van parked in a lay-by off a dual carriageway in Talybont, near Bangor, in 2012.

It is the second time Paddy’s life has been touched by a tragic road death. His 18-year-old son Patrick was killed on the East Lancs Road between Liverpool and Manchester in 1989 along with nephew David, 17, and second-cousin Andrew, 21.

Paddy said: “I went to see David and he was in a wheelchair. His legs were shattered. I’m lucky I don’t have to visit him in a graveyard. I know he got prison, but he’s going to come home to me. I’ve got a son, 18 years of age, Patrick, who is dead and buried and what would I give for him to be in jail so I could go and see him”?

Dan’s Travels with Paddy Doherty – Malta and Gozo is now streaming for free on Tubi TV.

Source: Mirror