''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 (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

for ITV. 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, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager

Harry Redknapp Henry James Redknapp (born 2 March 1947) is an English former association football, football manager (association football), manager and player. He has previously managed AFC Bournemouth, West Ham United F.C., West Ham United, Portsmouth F.C., ...

attempting get a squad of former

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

international footballers back fit and healthy for one last game, vs a

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Legends team. Redknapp was joined by an injured

John Barnes John Charles Bryan Barnes (born 7 November 1963) is a former professional football player and manager. Often considered one of the greatest England players of all time and one of Liverpool's greatest ever players, Barnes currently works as an ...

, 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 type of play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or video games) or art ...

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 English band New Order (band), 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 fo ...

. 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 can be used in many ways, including whole body exposure for therapeutic health benefits or may be used locally to treat ...

, 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. A television personality, he has also worked as an actor, model and football pundit. A forward, Ginola played for ten seasons in France with Toulon, Racing Par ...

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 association football, footballer who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. His 31-year career included spells at 11 clubs and he has the uni ...

and

Paul Gascoigne Paul John Gascoigne (, born 27 May 1967), nicknamed Gazza, is an English former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Regarded as one of the best playmakers of his generation and one of the best English footballers of ...

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 an English actor, presenter, and former professional footballer. Jones played professionally as a defensive midfielder from 1984 to 1999, notably for Wimbledon, Leeds United, Sheffield United, C ...

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

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

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 late ...

. ''

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

'' 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 British English-language television shows Football mass media in the United Kingdom ITV Sport ITV (TV network) original programming Television series by Fremantle (company)