''Harry's Heroes'' is an English documentary television programme produced by

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

for

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

. The first series ''Harry's Heroes: The Full English'' aired in March 2019. Series 2, entitled ''Harry's Heroes: Euro Having a Laugh'' aired in May 2020. It featured former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

manager

Harry Redknapp Henry James Redknapp (born 2 March 1947) is an English former football manager and player. He has previously managed AFC Bournemouth, West Ham United, Portsmouth, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, Queens Park Rangers and Birmingham City. In his ...

attempting get a squad of former England international footballers back fit and healthy for one last game, vs a German Legends team. Redknapp was joined by an injured

John Barnes John Charles Bryan Barnes MBE (born 7 November 1963) is a former professional football player and manager. He currently works as an author, commentator and pundit for ESPN and SuperSport. Initially a quick, skilful left winger, he moved to cent ...

, who acted as his assistant manager, and by sports scientist Luke Worthington, who analysed the players' weights and fitness throughout the course of filming the show.

Episodes

Series Overview

Series 1

Episode 1

Episode 1 aired on 18 March 2019. Harry Redknapp meets up with his squad of players, who aren't expecting what is to come. The squad got weighed and had their bodies analysed, before they played their first

game A game is a structured form of play (activity), play, usually undertaken for enjoyment, entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator s ...

against Ridgeway Rovers Youth Football Club, losing 2-1, with the game ending early to prevent injuries. Whilst the majority of players begin working to become fitter and slimmer, Neil Ruddock goes on a cruise holiday. David Seaman takes Robbie Fowler and Paul Merson fishing, where Merson reveals his struggles with drugs, alcohol and gambling. Back on the training field, the squad are put through a bleep test. Mark Wright and Ray Parlour meet a golf course, before luring John Barnes into joining the squad's dieting regime, despite not being able to play. The squad meet up again, first in a gym for some strength and endurance training, and later in a recording studio to re-record

World in Motion "World in Motion..." is a song by British musical group New Order (performed with the England national football team, credited as ENGLANDneworder). The song is New Order's only number-one song on the UK Singles Chart. It was produced for the En ...

. They played their second game vs Crystal Palace Ladies, winning 1-0.

Episode 2

Episode 2 aired on 19 March 2019. The majority of the squad jetted off to Spain for a training camp, in which Robbie Fowler missed a training session due to a hangover. Meanwhile in England, Paul Merson revealed he had fallen back into a gambling addiction, and met up with Drewe Broughton, a former footballer who had suffered with addictions himself. The squad regather in England, where Merson again speaks with Seaman and Fowler about his struggles, before a number of the squad go for a session of

cryotherapy Cryotherapy, sometimes known as cold therapy, is the local or general use of low temperatures in medical therapy. Cryotherapy may be used to treat a variety of tissue lesions. The most prominent use of the term refers to the surgical treatment, s ...

, a new science used by today's modern footballers. Neil Ruddock meets up with former footballer and heart attack survivor

David Ginola David Ginola-Ceze (born 25 January 1967) is a French former professional footballer who has also worked as an actor, model and football pundit. A former forward, Ginola played football for ten seasons in France before moving from Paris Saint-Ger ...

to talk about his health, before going for a personal check-up with a doctor, where he learns he is at a high risk of heart problems. The full squad regather to be suited up and weighed for the last time ahead of their third game, vs a Germany Legends team. Pre-match, the team were shown well-wishing videos sent in by

Peter Shilton Peter Leslie Shilton (born 18 September 1949) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. His 30-year career included spells at 11 clubs and he has the distinction of playing over 1,000 league games, including in ...

and

Paul Gascoigne Paul John Gascoigne (, born 27 May 1967), nicknamed Gazza, is an English former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He is described by the National Football Museum as "widely recognised as the most naturally talente ...

wishing them well, before winning the game itself 4-2.

Series 2

Cast

''The Full English''(Season 1)

England Team

: ''Players' ages are as of the opening episode of Season 1 (18 March 2019).''

Coaching Staff

: ''Coaches' ages are as of the opening episode of Season 1 (18 March 2019).''

''Euro Having a Laugh'' (Season 2)

England Team

: ''Players' ages are as of the opening episode of Season 2 (29 April 2020).''

Vinnie Jones Vincent Peter Jones (born 5 January 1965) is a British actor, presenter, and former professional footballer. Jones played professionally as a defensive midfielder from 1984 to 1999, notably for Wimbledon, Leeds United, Sheffield United, Chelse ...

caps, goals and time spent in national team denotes to his appearances for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and not England. Jones was born in England but represented Wales at International level, despite this he appeared as a guest for the England legends in Season Two.
Jamie Thompson is not a footballer, and was the teams physiotherapist who was forced to play due to injuries to some of the players.

Coaching Staff

: ''Coaches' ages are as of the opening episode of Season 2 (29 April 2020).'' : Ruddock participated in the first two episodes but did not play owing to a heart condition. Jamie Thompson, the team's physio, played in the match against San Marino.

Games

Series One (2019)

The two episodes showed highlights of three games played by Harry's Heroes, winning two and losing one. ---- ----

Series Two (2020)

---- ----

Reception

The show received generally positive reaction, with many praising the air time given towards players talking about their mental and physical health, notably

Paul Merson Paul Charles Merson (born 20 March 1968) is an English former professional footballer, manager, commentator and sports television pundit for Sky Sports. Originally a forward, Merson found success as an attacking midfielder and playmaker later ...

. ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' published a 3/5 star review, calling the issues touched on by the programme "rather heartwarming."

References

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harry's Heroes 2019 British television series debuts 2020 British television series endings 2010s British sports television series 2020s British sports television series English-language television shows Football mass media in the United Kingdom ITV Sport ITV (TV network) original programming Television series by Fremantle (company)