James Graham has said he hopes England players don’t watch the new TV adaptation of his hit play Dear England.
The four-part BBC series launches on May 24, and it is based on Graham’s multiple Olivier Award-winning play of the same name, which premiered at London’s National Theatre in 2023.
It tells the story of Gareth Southgate’s stint as manager of the England national football team, as he attempted to tackle and change the team’s psyche amid enormous public and media pressure. It charts the transition of the team from their embarrassing defeat to Iceland in Euro 2016 to their run to the finals of the subsequent two Euros and the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup.
Joseph Fiennes will reprise his role as Southgate in the TV version, while it also stars Jodie Whittaker, Jason Watkins and John Hodgkinson. Graham has adapted the screenplay himself.
Speaking at the launch of the show in London this weekend, Graham revealed that he would prefer that the current England squad, who head to North America for the World Cup in a few weeks, do not watch the show.
“I wouldn’t want them to watch it, I want them to really focus on what they’re doing,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to be the one responsible for disrupting our best chance [of winning the World Cup] in a long time.”
He went on to say that he had the same reluctance for Southgate himself to watch the original play. “I’m glad he didn’t come and see it during the final tournaments because he is the storyteller and those players are the storytellers, and their story shouldn’t be corrupted by my version of it.”
Southgate resigned as England manager after the team’s defeat to Spain in the final of Euro 2024, and was replaced by Thomas Tuchel, who will name his squad for this summer’s World Cup on Friday (May 22).
England’s games in the group stage and any knockout games will be screened at a series of ‘90s rave-themed events around London – see all the details here.
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