Patrick Doherty (born 6 February 1959) is an

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

who is a former

bare-knuckle boxer Bare-knuckle boxing (or simply bare-knuckle) is a combat sport which involves two individuals throwing punches at each other for a predetermined amount of time without any boxing gloves or other form of padding on their hands. It is a regulated ...

. He is best known as one of the stars of ''

My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding ''Big Fat Gypsy Weddings'' is a British documentary series broadcast on Channel 4, that explored the lives and traditions of several British Traveller families as they prepared to unite one of their members in marriage. The series also feature ...

'' and '' Danny Dyer's Deadliest Men''. 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 (British TV series), Celebrity Big Brother''. It was the first series of ''Celebrity ...

''. 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 t ...

'' later that year.

Early life

Doherty was born to

parents and moved around

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

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 in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

. 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 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 ...

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

interviewed for the documentary ''

''.

''Celebrity Big Brother''

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

'' house. He won the series, beating

Kerry Katona Kerry Jayne Elizabeth Katona (born 6 September 1980) is a British media personality and singer. She was a member of girl group Atomic Kitten from 1998 until her first departure in 2001 and again from 2012 until her second departure in 2017. ...

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's '' This Morning''.

''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 Bercow attended the independent co-educational King Edward's School ...

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

''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. 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 a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

in January 2021.

References

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