Former England goalkeeper Peter Shilton has revealed that he was too afraid to seek help for his gambling addiction due to fears that news of his struggle would leak to the press.
The 76-year-old, who lost over £1 million betting on horse racing over 45 years before quitting in 2015, has now launched a charity called Shiltons' Silverlining to assist other addicts.
"It affects you in so many ways and it's a silent illness that's getting worse and worse," Shilton told BBC Essex presenter Ben Fryer.
Shilton, England's most-capped player with 125 appearances, credited his wife and addiction counsellor Steph with helping him overcome the habit.
"Being quite well known, it's difficult [to get help] because you're frightened it's going to get out and somebody's going to [write] it in the press, it's going to go haywire," he said. "That's why Steph was so good. She worked on me over a period of time until it finally clicked. It is a terrible, silent disease."
The legendary goalkeeper, who played in the 1982, 1986, and 1990 World Cups and also featured for Nottingham Forest and Leicester City, said his charity will focus on rehabilitation, debt management, and prevention.
Shilton's charity has received backing from former teammates Gary Lineker, Terry Butcher, and Paul Parker, as well as cricket icon Graham Gooch.
According to government figures, between 117 and 496 suicides are associated with problem gambling every year.
Steph Shilton described those numbers as "heartbreaking" and said they inspired the couple to set up the charity. "Peter just looked at me and said, 'We're not doing enough, we need to be doing more.' They're unnecessary deaths and it's so heartbreaking," she said.
Shilton, whose club career also included Southampton, Stoke City, Derby County, and Plymouth Argyle, warned of the ease of being drawn into gambling. "It's always looked upon with the advertising as fun – 'Let's all get together and have a good time.' But there's a dark time to it, which we know, and that's why we want to help people who've reached a bad place."