On Thursday night, the family of Paul Gascoigne joined to watch a screening of a new documentary about his life. Paul was supposed to be there.
Earlier in the day, at a smart London hotel, he had been booked to participate in a Q&A with assembled media to discuss 'Gazza', the latest look into the chaotic, troubled yet so often brilliant life of one of the country's most talented and celebrated footballers.
Paul did not make it to either viewing. It was, in short, all a bit much for the 54-year-old Gascoigne. Too raw, even after all these years.
A new documentary has been made showing archive footage of Paul Gascoigne's life during the height of the public and tabloid obsession with 'Gazzamania' during the 1990s
For so many of his family, they had not just seen this story before - put together by director Sampson Collins from archive footage of Gascoigne's life during the height of the public and tabloid obsession with 'Gazzamania' in the 90s - they had felt it.
They had been at the heart of the storm. They witnessed Gazza captivate the nation at Italia 90 and again at Euro 96, the goals, the tears, yet also read the headlines of the nights out, the drunken misdemeanours, the domestic abuse. They had seen their son, their brother, hounded and exploited: his every move followed, his phone hacked, every morsel of his life feasted upon in the pages of newspapers in a pre-social media age.
But there are younger members of his family, who hadn't. And, for them, it was difficult to watch. 'I saw first-hand everything during this time,' said Paul's sister Anna. 'But my daughter, Paul's niece Harley, had no idea and she cried all throughout the documentary. It was hard to watch and very emotional.
'Gazza' feels at part less a documentary about his life but more social commentary of sleazy tabloid culture as his relatives talk about his problems with mental health during his life
'For me it really highlighted what I have been saying for years: Paul was a young vulnerable man whose mental health suffered terribly because he was exploited, used and taken advantage of by people who he trusted to benefit their careers and
