William has heart to Hart with keeper Joe over mental health

PRINCE WILLIAM has teamed up with Premier League stars, including former England goalkeeper Joe Hart, for a hard-hitting BBC documentary on mental health.

The film focuses on men’s wellbeing through the prism of football, with the Duke of Cambridge telling the nation: ‘You can’t be ashamed of your mental health.

‘You’ve got to be able to look it in the eye and go, “I’m going to deal with it, here we go”. It’s about feeling confident enough to say, “Things aren’t great”. It’s OK to not be OK.’

William, 37, met players, fans and managers from grassroots to the elite level as part of his mission to improve men’s mental health through football.

Through his efforts as president of the Football Association, last year he launched the Heads Up campaign, which urges men to speak to their friends.

The documentary is part of that campaign, and in it he talks to Hart, 33, who has been forced to cope with a very public decline in his career and is now struggling to get into the first team at Burnley.

Former Watford and Bolton striker Marvin Sordell, 29, opens up about his struggle with depression, while Aston Villa and England defender Tyrone Mings, 27, talks about the pressures of being in the public eye.

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard, 41, admits to the Prince that he used to be ‘stuck in the Stone Age’ when i t came t o mental health. William also speaks to a group of bereaved fathers who use their local football team as a support network and safe space to talk.

The programme follows l ast y e a r ’s A Ro y a l Te a m Ta l k , which also featured the Duke talking to stars including Thierry Henry, Gareth Southgate and Peter Crouch.

The new documentary – Football, Prince William and our Mental Health – will be screened as part of the BBC’s mental health season. It is on BBC1 on Thursday, May 28, at 8.05pm.