Patrick Doherty (born 6 February 1959) is an

Irish Traveller Irish Travellers (, meaning ''the walking people''), also known as Mincéirs (Shelta: ''Mincéirí'') or Pavees, are a traditionally List of nomadic peoples#Peripatetic, peripatetic Indigenous peoples, indigenous Ethnic group, ethno-cultural g ...

who is a former

bare-knuckle boxer Bare-knuckle boxing (also known as bare-knuckle or bare-knuckle fighting) is a full-contact combat sport based on punching without any form of padding on the hands. The sport as it is known today originated in 17th-century England and, although s ...

. He is best known as one of the stars of '' My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding'' and ''

Danny Dyer's Deadliest Men ''Danny Dyer's Deadliest Men'' (''Danny Dyer's Deadliest Men 2: Living Dangerously'' in Series 2) is a documentary series broadcast on Bravo between 20 October 2008 and 28 September 2009. It followed Danny Dyer as he embarked on meeting men he ...

''. He won ''

Celebrity Big Brother 8 ''Celebrity Big Brother 2011'', also known as ''Celebrity Big Brother 8'', was the eighth series of the British reality television series ''Celebrity Big Brother''. It was the first series of ''Celebrity Big Brother'' to air on Channel 5, and th ...

''. He appeared in '' When Paddy Met Sally'' in January 2012 and on ''

Celebrity Bainisteoir ''Celebrity Bainisteoir'' was a prime-time reality programme created by Fiona Looney and first broadcast in 2008 by RTÉ. It involved a number of celebrities competing against each other as a Gaelic football team coach. The title derived from ...

'' later that year.

Early life

Doherty was born to

parents and moved around

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

as a child and also to various sites in and around

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

. 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 someone he was told was his "sister" and her family; but his "sister" was actually his mother. She had been

unmarried Civil status, or marital status, are the distinct options that describe a person's relationship with a significant other. ''Married'', '' single'', '' divorced'', and ''widowed'' are examples of civil status. ''Civil status'' and ''marital stat ...

when she delivered him, so it was kept quiet to avoid shame on the family.

Career

''My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding''

Doherty was one of the

Irish Travellers Irish Travellers (, meaning ''the walking people''), also known as Mincéirs ( Shelta: ''Mincéirí'') or Pavees, are a traditionally peripatetic indigenous ethno-cultural group originating in Ireland.''Questioning Gypsy identity: ethnic na ...

interviewed for the documentary '' My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding''.

''Celebrity Big Brother''

On 18 August 2011, Doherty was the third person to enter the ''

'' house. He won the series, beating

Kerry Katona Kerry Katona (born 6 September 1980) is an English television personality and former singer. She was an original member of the pop girl group Atomic Kitten between 1998 and 2001, leaving before the group's success. Katona has appeared on va ...

at the final stage. Doherty made an appearance on '' The Late Late Show'' in September 2011. 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 ITV or iTV may refer to: Television TV stations/networks/channels ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network and company, including: **ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network in the United Kingd ...

's ''

This Morning This Morning may refer to: * ''This Morning'' (TV programme), a British daytime television programme * ''This Morning'' (radio program), a Canadian radio show which aired from 1997 to 2002 * ''CBS This Morning'', an American morning show, succes ...

''.

''When Paddy Met Sally''

Doherty appeared in a two-part Channel 5 documentary with his former ''Big Brother'' housemate

Sally Bercow Sally Kate Bercow (''née'' Illman; born 22 November 1969) is a British public personality and the wife of the former Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow. Early life The daughter of Ronald Illman, of Hindhead, Surrey, Bercow attend ...

, wife of the

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

. 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.

''Celebrity Bainisteoir''

In 2012, Doherty appeared on ''

''.

''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 ''

'' alongside his granddaughter, 8-year-old Margaret, to debate this issue.

''Dan and Paddy’s Bucket list-Kyushu Japan''

Doherty explored

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...

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 The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, internet, telecommunications and mail, postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-rang ...

investigation. Twelve months later, the investigation was still ongoing with Ofcom blaming the complexity of the case for the delays.

Personal life

Doherty encourages his grandchildren to remain in education. Doherty was hospitalised after becoming infected with

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

in January 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doherty, Paddy 1959 births 20th-century British sportsmen 21st-century British sportsmen Living people Reality show winners Irish Travellers from England People from Salford