Football's Darkest Secret
BBC
Watch on BBC iPlayer
Runtime 3 x 60 min
2022
Broadcast Media Awards
Best Documentary Series (nominated)
2022
BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL
BEST DOCUMENTARY SERIES (NOMINEE)
The Guardian
“It is a hard, spare and unrelenting three hours”
Lucy Mangan
THE TIMES
“A skilfully made film”
CAROL MIDGLEY
THE OBSERVER
“THE MOST REMARKABLE DOCUMENTARY THIS YEAR SO FAR”
EUAN FERGUSON
The Daily Mail
“Crucial and Compelling”
Christopher Stevens
The Telegraph
“A bleak but important watch”
Anita Singh
The i
“An emotional, fearless account of child sexual abuse”
Emily Baker
Behind the goals, behind the glory - the child abuse football ignored. Their stories were overlooked for decades, until the survivors finally had their voices heard.
In November 2016, former footballer Andy Woodward came forward with a shocking tale of abuse that he suffered at the hands of his youth coach, Barry Bennell. In the storm that followed, hundreds of men made allegations against hundreds of their childhood coaches.
The programme charts these survivors from the years of abuse during their early adolescence, then explores how it affected them as they tried to pursue their footballing dreams as professionals. Whether Steve Walters starring as a youngster at Crewe or David White playing for Man City or Paul Stewart scoring in the FA Cup final for Spurs, they all feel they couldn’t enjoy their career highs because of the heavy burden of the mental scars they were carrying.