Dear England drama: 'A story of real hope' says writer

Football tournaments and drama can unite people around shared stories or events and encourage reflection on who people want to be. James Graham connects the operatic scale of World Cups with the emotional power of theatre, and he cites Gareth Southgate’s England progress as inspiring. Dear England is a four-part BBC drama based on Graham’s Olivier Award-winning play, presenting a fictionalised account of real events. Southgate is portrayed by Joseph Fiennes and works with psychologist Pippa Grange, portrayed by Jodie Whittaker, to address England’s penalty problems through mindset and pressure. The series also covers racist abuse faced by players after Euro 2020. The title references Southgate’s letter emphasizing conduct, unity, and inspiration beyond results.

"“It's always captivated me, the drama, the operatic scale of these huge World Cup tournaments,” says Graham, who previously wrote Sherwood and Quiz. And he found the progress of the England men's team under Gareth Southgate “incredibly inspiring”. Southgate managed England for 102 games and led them to two European Championship finals. Under him they won a World Cup penalty shootout for the first time."

"The new four-part BBC drama Dear England is based on Graham's Olivier Award-winning play of the same name. It is a fictionalised account of the real events that saw Southgate (played by Joseph Fiennes) transform the team, bringing in psychologist Pippa Grange (played by Jodie Whittaker) to address their problem with penalties by looking at their mindset and the pressure that players faced. As Southgate, played by Fiennes, says in the series: “I think there's something really wrong here...”"

"The series also delves into the racist abuse faced by players like Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka after the team's exit from Euro 2020 on penalties. The name of the BBC drama is reference to the opening line of a heartfelt letter penned by Southgate in which the former manager explains what matters is more than the result of a game: “It's about how we conduct ourselves on and off the pitch, how we bring people together, how we inspire and unite.”"

"Graham says he found the letter and “the aspiration to be decent and to be good” very moving. Whittaker, known for Doctor Who and Toxic Town, feels the story is particularly important in the lead-up to this summer's World Cup “no matter"

Read at www.bbc.com