When Neil “Razor” Ruddock rolled up to join Harry’s Heroes on ITV, it was clear he’d be the joker in the pack of ageing England football legends.
The likes of Matt Le Tissier and Paul Merson shed the pounds to get in shape for a revenge match against the Germans, but Razor’s weight and behaviour barely changed at all.
The 23st defender was no longer the hardman on the pitch but was still the wildman off it, boozing like there was no tomorrow. It made for great TV.
With Razor as ringleader, some of England’s finest players tried to sneak off for a drink under the not-very-watchful eyes of coach Harry Redknapp and his assistant John Barnes.
It was a lot of fun… until it wasn’t.
Being part of Harry’s Heroes in 2019 would prove to be a lifesaver for dad-of-four Razor, now 52.
Health checks in the show revealed he was so unhealthy, he could have dropped dead on the spot.
Razor has since had a pacemaker fitted and his resting heart rate is now less than half the speed it was.
The 6ft 2in player has also lost three stone, cut back on booze and cigarettes and is hooked on walking on the beach near his Kent home.
Razor has been a programme makers’ dream, bringing his extrovert personality to 2004’s I’m a Celebrity, Celebrity Big Brother in 2013 and last year’s Celebrity MasterChef, where he reached the final.
But the former Liverpool defender will never be well enough to take part in some other reality shows.
Razor said: “I was asked to do Strictly but with my knees and arthritis, I wouldn’t last two minutes.
"And Dancing On Ice and The Jump – I couldn’t do things like that.”
Razor’s health issues came to light in 2018, while filming the first series of Harry’s Heroes.
He said: “We all had a bellyful and I was feeling a bit tired.
They took me to have a service – full oil change – in London, and they found my cholesterol was up.
“So I had to change my diet, take a few pills and, you know, I just got on with life as normal.”
But during the making of the second series, Euro Having a Laugh, Razor was told he needed a pacemaker and the show went on to pay for a private operation near his home.
Razor’s battles with booze are well documented.
He has admitted being a binge drinker and said one of his worst sessions saw him guzzle six pints of lager with double gin and tonic chasers, three bottles of wine and four brandies.
He said: “At my worst I was crazy. I was doing three or four bottles of wine a day, easy peasy, plus spirits, beers and cocktails.”
Razor endured a 30-day stretch of sobriety after his first stint in rehab almost 20 years ago, but fell off the wagon 12 months later.
He decided to “trust himself”, but this led to him slowly building back up to drinking at least seven pints a night plus spirits – and two packets of cigarettes a day.
When he emerged from rehab in 2005, his 16-year marriage to first wife Sarah had crumbled due to his boozing and a string of affairs.
Soon after, he met current wife Leah Newman, 38, who he has repeatedly credited for saving his life by forcing him to live a healthier lifestyle.
In the second series of Harry’s Heroes, Razor was given some home truths by his old friend and ex-Arsenal hero Paul Merson, who has also battled alcoholism and gambling addictions.
This led to an explosive row when Merson told Ruddock his boozing was “out of control” and likely to kill him.
Razor said he and Merson, 52, are now best pals again and talk all the time on the phone.
And they have replaced being hooked on alcohol and betting with walking and exercise.
Razor laughed: “It’s two addictive personalities.
He’s just addicted to walking now.
“I don’t know if it’s in your genes but I don’t think you plan it.
You don’t think, ‘Right, when I finish football I’m going to start gambling heavily’, or, ‘I’m going to start drinking heavily’.
“Some people don’t do it half ways.
But some people are luckier than others and the drink or gambling doesn’t get hold of them.”
Ruddock’s 18-year career took him to Millwall, Tottenham, West Ham and Southampton as well as Liverpool.
He was capped once by England, in 1994.
The uncompromising defender was once voted the 17th hardest footballer of all time – but was disappointed he failed to make the top ten.
He didn’t just let his boots do the talking on the pitch, though.
Once, while at Liverpool, Ruddock responded to Manchester United player Eric Cantona’s taunts about his weight by turning the Frenchman’s collar down, which he famously wore up.
But Razor thinks todays footballers are “soft” and prefers watching re-runs of matches from the 80s and 90s.
He said of modern players: “I think they’re all soft now and that’s the mentality of the game – that’s the way football’s changed.
It’s a non-contact sport. They’re a lot more fit and skilful now, but that’s the big change in football.”
But Razor, who has daughters Pebbles, 13, and Kizzy, nine, with Leah, along with Josh, 30, and
Millie, 28, with his first wife, has an admission himself: he is now a big softie.
He said: “I cry when good things happen, like if I see the Olympics and someone wins and they’re trying their hardest, I’m in tears.
“On Surprise, Surprise with Cilla Black when someone came in who hasn’t seen their daughter in 20 years, I was in tears.”
