‘Dear England’s Trailer Is Much Bigger Than Football
'Dear England' gets a pre-World Cup release date on the BBC.
Most TV fans will know James Graham’s name as the man behind the BritBox series Sherwood, which is, along with Jimmy McGovern’s Time, one of the best things to air on the BBC in the 2020s. More recently, Graham was also the writer behind the series Brian & Maggie, which aired on PBS in October 2025. However, in the U.K., Graham is better known as a playwright whose award-winning West End shows, such as This House, focus on recent political history.
Graham’s most recent hit stage play, 2023’s Dear England, was optioned by the BBC to be turned into a four-part miniseries in 2024. A work of historical fiction about real-life England football manager Gareth Southgate, the series follows the same emotional themes as Ted Lasso and Welcome to Wrexham: the pressures of elite sport, the role of the national men’s football team in the national psyche, and the changing norms around toxic masculinity that show success.
Joseph Fiennes (Young Sherlock) reprises the role he originated in the National Theatre production as Southgate, alongside fellow original cast members John Hodgkinson (Small Axe) as former FA chairman Greg Clarke, Adam Hugill (Sherwood) as real-life player Harry Maguire, Josh Barrow (Hostage) as player Jordan Pickford, and small-screen newcomer Lewis Shepherd as Dele Alli.
Here’s the four-part series synopsis:
Gareth Southgate aims to start a new chapter with the England men’s team. 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. 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? Dear England is a fictionalized account of the struggles and successes of the England men’s team, based on extensive research and interviews.
New topline cast joining Fiennes and Hodgkinson includes Jodie Whittaker (Doctor Who) as England men’s team psychologist Pippa Grange; Jason Watkins (The Game) as former FA chairman Greg Dyke; Daniel Ryan (The Bay) as former assistant manager for the England men’s team Steve Holland; and Sam Spruell (The Gold) as the only fictional main character, Coach Mike Webster.
On the field, the newcomers joining Hugill, Barrow, and Shepherd as major English football figures include Bobby Schofield (Unforgivable) as Wayne Rooney; Will Antenbring (Mr. Loverman) as Harry Kane; and Edem-Ita Duke (Vera) as Marcus Rashford. The rest of the team features Francis Lovehall (A Thousand Blows) as Raheem Sterling; Sam Baker Jones (Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man) as Jack Grealish; Abdul Sessay (My Oxford Year) as Bukayo Saka; Jacob Greenway (Riot Women) as Jude Bellingham; David Shields (Masters of the Air) as Jordan Henderson; Hamish Frew (Joan) as Eric Dier; Alfie Middlemiss (The Madame Blanc Mysteries) as Philip Foden; Riess Fennell (The Football Fantastics) as Jadon Sancho; and Daniel Quincy Annoh (The Recruit) as Ollie Watkins. Newcomers Dom Rayner and Xander Westcarr-Parsons play Cole Palmer and Jesse Lingard, respectively.
Joseph Fiennes, Jodie Whittaker, Will Antenbring, Alfie Middlemiss, David Shields, Francis Lovehall, Abdul Sessay, and Sam Baker Jones in 'Dear England' (BBC/Left Bank/Justin Downing)
Graham penned all four episodes of the series, with Goold joined by director Paul Whittington (White House Farm) and producer Tina Pawlik. Graham and Goold executive produce alongside Andy Harries & Rebecca Hodgson for Left Bank Pictures, and Jo McClellan & Sami El-Hadi for the BBC.
Dear England debuts with two episodes on Sunday, May 24, with the other two following on Sunday, May 31, 2026, on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. It does not yet have an American distributor.
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