UK Edition
Review
A Royal Team Talk: Tackling Mental Health, review: Prince William met football's A-listers for a raw, revealing chat
Huge progress has been made in the media’s depiction of mental health, albeit with the occasional aberration – we’re looking at you, Jeremy Kyle. An encouraging indication of how far we’ve come was A Royal Team Talk: Tackling Mental Health (BBC One), which found our future King and five A-list footballers talking frankly about what is far too often a taboo topic.
Men particularly tend to shy away from such conversations but this commendably candid documentary was a demonstration of the support and kindness that usually follows.
As Prince William wisely said: "Men are the hardest-to-reach audience on the subject of mental health. Suicide is the biggest killer of young men under the age of 45 and that's an appalling statistic. We need to pass the message onto men everywhere that it's OK to talk. We have to normalise the conversation."
The Duke of Cambridge joined Gareth Southgate, Peter Crouch, Thierry Henry, Danny Rose and Jermaine Jenas, under the guidance of presenter Dan Walker, for a raw and revealing chat.
The impressively open, empathetic Prince – “call me William”, he told his new confidantes – said Britons needed to rethink our default response of a stiff upper lip, and reflected on the “pain like no other” following the death of his mother Diana in 1997. The Duke also disclosed how his time in the military and work as an air ambulance pilot had shaped his views.
Former England striker Crouch almost stole the show from his royal team-mate. The 6ft 7in cult hero’s openness about body image was admirable as he recalled how he was stigmatised and called “a freak”, sometimes crying himself to sleep at night. Crouch admitted using humour as a defence mechanism and, true to form, was hilarious company here.
England coach Southgate, who had his own issues after infamously missing a crucial penalty at Euro 96, explained how he sought to change the culture around the national team and make it an environment where talking about mental health was seen as a strength, not a weakness.
A living example was Spurs and England full-back Rose, who was widely applauded when he spoke about facing depression before last summer’s World Cup. He had the full support of manager Southgate but in a sobering reminder of the work still to do, Rose confessed he was “embarrassed and angry” after an unnamed club wanted to “check he wasn’t crazy” ahead of a proposed transfer.
Jenas warned of social media’s perils and passionately argued that men should watch out for warning signs among their friends. He was impressively articulate, as were all the men here. Henry was the quietest of the quintet but his wry charm added some Gallic va-va-voom to the group. The Frenchman still had his silky ball skills, too.
Filmed at the ground of Cambridge United, which is pioneering what it means to be a mentally healthy football club, this documentary wasn’t faultless. Walker made a sensitive, amiable host but some of his questions were frustratingly rambling. With seven men sitting in a locker room, it was almost clichéd in its laddishness, even if the content of the conversation was anything but.
Neither was it terribly televisual, often feeling more suited to radio – at least until everyone ventured outside for an uplifting final sequence. This saw four football fans speak about their own struggles, unaware that they were about to join their heroes for a kickaround. Their faces were priceless as the surprise was unveiled. Heart-to-hearts between the fans and the footballers, sitting in the stands and baring their secrets to one another, were some of the most powerful and poignant scenes here.
The BBC’s Mental Health Awareness season has been outstanding, notably the confessional films by Nadiya Hussain and David Harewood. This courageous and compelling programme was another success. It’s just a shame it aired so late on a Sunday night when it surely merited a primetime slot and the widest possible audience.
The last word went to Danny Rose. “Once you share your problems, you’re halfway to solving them.” Alright, not quite the last word. As Peter Crouch added: "It's OK not to be OK." Well played, lads.