Ben Stokes: Phoenix from the Ashes
Available: Friday 26 August
Genre: One-off documentary
England cricket captain Ben Stokes comes under the spotlight in this very personal documentary, which has been created alongside Oscarwinning director Sir Sam Mendes, who also interviews Ben on screen. It tells the story of Ben’s career, including his 2019 World Cup triumph, and the moment he announced his break from the game to prioritise his mental wellbeing following his dad’s death from brain cancer. ‘When you’re sat in a hotel room having a massive panic attack, with your manager and your wife on the other end of the phone trying to talk you through it, that’s when you know things aren’t quite right,’ reveals Ben. ‘It’s not only been the sport that’s been mentally fatiguing, it’s been everything else, which has built up over a long time. It got to a point where everything became too much. When I stopped playing, my anxiety went through the roof. I even had a panic attack in the dry cleaners when a woman asked me to sign a cricket ball for her. And then I had one picking up my son from a birthday party. It’s such a hard thing for a man to talk about.’
The film also hears from Ben’s friends, family, teammates and opponents, from fast bowler Jofra Archer to the late Shane Warne and former England captain Joe Root.