Dear England….

Mr Fixit and I have been watching Dear England, the four part series on BBC1 which follows Gareth Southgate’s time as England manager. The series is based on the play by the same name, which debuted in 2023 and went on to tour the UK.

We really enjoyed it, it brought back lots of memories of us watching England play in major tournaments. Episode one sees Southgate taking over as caretaker manager before being permanent, and England breaking their penalty curse! Whilst some of the story and some characters are fictional, it is very much based on facts and events during Southgate’s time in charge. The actors are quite good lookylikeys of the team members they portray and some of the mannerisms are spot on.

Episode two focuses on the ‘Covid era’ postponed Euros with England reaching the final held at Wembley Stadium, the racial abuse against some of the team and the heartbreak of losing to Italy on penalties.

Southgate is a bit of a hero of mine, I admire the way he brought the team together, so much so, that several years ago, when England were taking part in the Euros (I think it was probably the postponed Euros in 2021), after a few glasses of wine, I vowed that if England won the tournament I would have a Gareth Southgate tattoo! It wasn’t to be, but my family very kindly reminded me of this in 2024 when we reached the finals of the Euros, but again it wasn’t to be!

The third episode covers the time of the Queen’s death, the World Cup in Qatar and Harry Kane’s penalty miss. It’s a heavier going episode than the previous two as it touches on things that were going on in the world outside of football.

The final episode shows England’s progression during the 2024 Euros, from a poor start to turning it round and reaching the final but losing out to Spain in the last few minutes. The series ends with Southgate’s resignation as England manager after 8 years.

I found the series a really good watch, and quite thought provoking at times, both about the pressure on the players and the fans attitude and expectations of the team and manager. I’d definitely recommend watching!