Paddy Doherty (TV personality)

Patrick Doherty (born 6 February 1959) is an Irish Traveller who is a former bare-knuckle boxer. He is best known as one of the stars of My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding and Danny Dyer's Deadliest Men. He won Celebrity Big Brother 8. He appeared in When Paddy Met Sally in January 2012 and on Celebrity Bainisteoir later that year.

Paddy Doherty
Born	Patrick Ward^[1] (1959-02-06) 6 February 1959 (age 65) Manchester, England^[2]
Nationality	Irish
Occupation	TV personality
Years active	2009–present
Television	Danny Dyer's Deadliest Men Big Fat Gypsy Weddings (2010–2015) Celebrity Big Brother When Paddy Met Sally Celebrity Bainisteoir
Spouse	Roseanne
Children	10

Early life

Doherty was born to Irish Traveller parents and moved around Manchester as a child and also to various sites in and around Birmingham. He did not attend school. His grandparents posed as his parents in his younger years but when he became a teenager he was sent to live with his "sister" and her family; his "sister" was actually his mother but as she was unmarried it was kept quiet to avoid shame on the family.^[3]

Career

My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding

Doherty was one of the Irish Travellers interviewed for the documentary My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding.^[4]

Celebrity Big Brother

On 18 August 2011, Doherty was the third person to enter the Celebrity Big Brother 8 house.^[5] He won the series, beating Kerry Katona at the final stage.^[6]

Doherty made an appearance on The Late Late Show in September 2011.^[7] He spoke about his experience on Big Brother, and his unexpected victory. He also spoke about his personal life and the loss of his son, Patrick. Before that, Doherty appeared on ITV's This Morning.^[8]

When Paddy Met Sally

Doherty appeared in a two-part Channel 5 documentary with his former Big Brother housemate Sally Bercow, wife of the Speaker of the House of Commons. Bercow moved into Doherty's chalet on his Queensferry travellers' site, living by his rules in episode one and hers in episode two. When Paddy Met Sally aired in January 2012.^[9]

Celebrity Bainisteoir

In 2012, Doherty appeared on Celebrity Bainisteoir.^[10]

Gypsy Kids: Our Secret World

In 2016 Doherty appeared in this Channel 5 series about Traveller life from the children's perspective. He talked about the importance of staying on in education for his community. He appeared on This Morning alongside his granddaughter, 8-year-old Margaret, to debate this issue.^[11]

Dan and Paddy’s Bucket list-Kyushu Japan

Doherty explored Kyushu and partook in challenges along the way with his co-host, Daniel Coll.

The Truth About Traveller Crime

In 2020, Doherty took part in the controversial Channel 4 programme The Truth About Traveller Crime. The programme received complaints which led to an Ofcom investigation.^[12] Twelve months later, the investigation was still ongoing with Ofcom blaming the complexity of the case for the delays.^[13]

Personal life

Doherty encourages his grandchildren to remain in education.^[14]

Doherty was hospitalised after becoming infected with COVID-19 in January 2021.^[15]

References

1. "Paddy Doherty". IMDb.
2. . Archived from the original on 4 September 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
3. "Gypsy Paddy Doherty reveals all in his autobiography". North Wales Live. 23 May 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
4. Devine, Darren (30 December 2012). "Big Fat Gypsy Wedding hard man Paddy Doherty learns to cry". WalesOnline. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
5. "Big Brother Profile". Big Brother. Channel Five. 18 August 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
6. "Paddy Doherty wins Celebrity Big Brother 2011 final". Mirror.co.uk. Daily Mirror. 8 September 2011. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
7. . Archived from the original on 19 April 2009. Retrieved 3 September 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
8. . Archived from the original on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
9. "When Paddy met Sally: Speaker's Wife Sally Bercow to move in with Paddy Doherty for new TV show". Manchester Evening News. 21 October 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
10. "Rozanna Purcell takes charge of Tipp team for Celebrity Bainisteoir". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. 24 July 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2012. Rozanna joins model Pippa O'Connor who will coach Naomh Brid from Ballintra, Co. Donegal while her husband, presenter Brian Ormand, will manage St. Mary's from Rochfortbridge in Co. Westmeath. X Factor star Mary Byrne is coaching a team from Tullow, Co Carlow and reality TV stars Calum Best and Paddy Doherty are also set to join the programme.
11. Press Association. "Eamonn Holmes says sorry after Paddy Doherty lets F-word slip on live TV". The Independent, 1 September 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2018
12. "Ofcom investigates Channel 4's The Truth About Traveller Crime". Metro. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
13. "Irish Travellers were racially abused following controversial Channel 4 Dispatches programme". inews.co.uk. 12 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
14. Hopegood, Rosie (10 September 2017). "Why Traveller girls leave school at 11 to stay home and clean every day". mirror. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
15. "Covid: Big Fat Gypsy Wedding star Paddy Doherty in hospital". BBC News. 15 January 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2021.

Preceded by Alex Reid

Celebrity Big Brother UK Winner Series 8 (2011)

Succeeded by Denise Welch