During an interview for Dish from Waitrose podcast, Dear England star Jodie Whittaker teased an absorbing watch for non-football fans when she shared: "You don't need to be into football to be completely, joyously transported on this journey."
The actor plays the England team's psychologist Pippa Grange, in the BBC drama centred on Gareth Southgate's (Joseph Fiennes) reign as England manager between 2016 to 2024.
Based on James Graham's play of the same name, the series debuted May 24 and follows Gareth's mission to transform the flailing team's performance as the synopsis reads: "With the worst team track record for penalties in the world when he takes over as manager, Gareth knows he needs to open his mind and face up to the years of hurt to take England back to the promised land.
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"The country that gave the world football has delivered a painful pattern of loss. Why can't the England team win at their own game?"
Speaking on how the series moved her to tears, Whittaker shared: "It's brilliant when you're in something you can be excited about. And I'm so excited about people seeing it because it'll be one of the first things, I'm in where I'm literally like, 'I'm not crying.'"
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She added: "I think that's like the first time I messaged my dad and went, 'Oh my God, you're gonna love it, Dad! You're gonna love it. You're not gonna be like, What the f**king hell am I watching!'"
Whittaker went on to praise Fiennes' performance stating: "When you see Joe as Gareth Southgate, it is unbelievable. I mean, obviously he'd done it on stage, but still, that's a completely different medium."
The Pippa actor shared her first experience with the story when she told Dish from Waitrose hosts Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett OBE: "I didn't actually get to see Joe play Gareth [Southgate] until I was on set with him, and I saw an amazing actor called Gwilym Lee playing him on stage, and I was completely blown away."
She added: "Football being on stage was fascinating to me because I do think when you try and replicate sport in any format – whether it's on TV, film – it has to be something other than the game to get you to watch it because a) that only brings in a football fan. Or the fan of the sport, and b) you can get more adrenaline watching a live match than someone's acted version of that.
"But what is beautiful about this story is it's a perspective and a way in that you just don't get. And obviously it's a dramatisation, so it's not a documentary. But the research that James did – and the kind of, the amazing view into the back room and to the, the structure and the psychology of it all and what Gareth did. When you look at his achievements as England manager it is extraordinary."
Dear England is streaming now on BBC iPlayer.
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TV writer, Digital Spy Janet completed her Masters degree in Magazine Journalism in 2013 and has continued to grow professionally within the industry ever since. For six years she honed her analytical reviewing skills at the Good Housekeeping institute eventually becoming Acting Head of Food testing. She also freelanced in the field of film and TV journalism from 2013-2020, when she interviewed A-List stars such as Samuel L Jackson, Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. In 2021 she joined Digital Spy as TV writer where she gets to delve into more of what she loves, watching copious amounts of telly all in the name of work. Since taking on the role she has conducted red carpet interviews with the cast of Bridgerton, covered the BAFTAs and been interviewed by BBC Radio and London Live. In her spare time she also moonlights as a published author, the book Gothic Angel.
