Actress Jodie Whittaker has spoken of the “revolutionary” former England football manager Sir Gareth Southgate as she attended the launch screening of a new film about his time in the role.
Dear England stars Joseph Fiennes as Sir Gareth, while Whittaker plays Pippa Grange, the England men’s team’s psychologist.
The BBC adaptation was created following a successful West End production also starring Fiennes, and tells the story of Sir Gareth’s time as England manager when he took the team to two European Championship finals and a World Cup semi-final.
Whittaker told the Press Association: “It was revolutionary of Gareth to bring in a psychologist for the team.
“And it’s fascinating, in this kind of day and age, where I suppose mental health is such a – we’re in 2026 – it’s a topic of conversation – masculinity, what are our kind of ideas of what we believe masculinity should represent.
“What is fascinating is, that you know, a pair of feet can be insured for however much, and then the brain is kind of left to fend for itself.
“In such young players, and in such incredibly talented young men, Gareth knew more than anyone that the psychological pressure is one of the hardest things to harness, so bringing in someone like Pippa was essential.”
Fiennes said the play introduced footballer fans to theatre and theatre lovers to football.
He told PA he was “so grateful that you could be in a theatre show and it works enough that the BBC pick it up and want to make it as a TV series”.
He said: “Fundamentally, the themes within the play go beyond football, and I think that’s why 50% of the audience in the theatre have never – don’t really engage with football – probably haven’t even been to a football match.
“And then 50% have never gone to theatre, but they heard and they loved the fact that it was about the England team.”
Fiennes said the role had been a “gift” to him.
He added: “It’s difficult to transpose the theatre to the television, but I think the writers, the directors, the producers, have done a phenomenal job.”
The TV series also stars Will Antenbring as Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane, The Crown’s Jason Watkins as former FA chairman Greg Dyke, and The Bay star Daniel Ryan as Steve Holland, the former assistant manager for the England men’s team.
Dear England had a sell-out run at the National Theatre before it transferred to the West End in 2023, winning best new play at the Olivier Awards in 2024.
