Peter Crouch lands huge new documentary deal with major streaming giant
PETER Crouch is in such high demand that he has a list of job offers nearly as long as his trousers.
And now Prime Video aims to cash in on the 6ft 7in former England striker’s popularity in a new documentary.
It will chart his journey from non-league club Dulwich Hamlet to the Premier League, playing in the World Cup, marrying model Abbey Clancy and his booming media career post-retirement.
A TV insider said: “Crouchy is one of football’s biggest characters so there is plenty of content to fill a feature-length production.
“He seems to resonate with all football fans so Prime Video is expecting some big numbers to stream it.
“But this won’t be a traditional football documentary because, as Crouchy is (at) the centre, it will be borderline comedy.”
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Prime Video has become the go-to place for football documentary series, mainly thanks to the huge success of its All Or Nothing series, which have so far focused on
Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and, most recently, Arsenal.
The new doc is being made by the team behind his 2021 series Peter Crouch: Save Our Beautiful Game, which aired on Discovery+ and saw the ex-Liverpool and Spurs ace return to boyhood club Dulwich Hamlet to help them recover from the pandemic.
The show is being made now and is expected to air next year.
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Since retiring from football in 2019, Crouchy has become a pundit on BT Sport, a podcaster and hosted his own BBC One light-entertainment show, Save Our Summer, which ran after Euro 2020 games.
Earlier this year, he bagged a place on the panel of ITV1’s The Masked Dancer alongside Jonathan Ross, Davina McCall and Oti Mabuse.
STRICTLY SKATING NEXT, AJ?
IT looks like dancer AJ Pritchard could one day be skating into trouble.
The former Strictly pro says he’s continually asked if he will now do Dancing On Ice, adding: “It’s the obvious thing to do.”
He admits he’s not much cop on skates, but reckons that would only make him more entertaining.
Talking on The Secret To… podcast, AJ said: “We put a video of me and Curtis ice skating the other day, and I realise I can’t turn and went straight through the barrier. So that would be hilarious.
“And if it’s something I’m not good at then I’m even more ‘I need to be good at it’. I’m that sort of annoying personality.”
Perhaps he should have stuck at what he was already good at?
TOM & JAKE PRIDE-TIME TV
JAKE Daniels , the only openly gay man playing professional football in the UK, was inspired to come out by seeing TOM DALEY’s Alternative Christmas Message.
The Blackpool striker has now met Tom for a Channel 4 documentary to discuss what life has been like since he made the decision, prompted by the diver’s words in his festive message last December.
Jake says: “In football, being gay is a taboo – even now. So I had a choice, either live my life as a lie and carry on playing football or come out and have to quit…I saw Tom talking on Channel 4 on Christmas Day.
"He spoke about homophobia in sport, and how amazing it would be and what a difference it would make if one brave player came out as gay.
“I watched that message over and over, and over again. Eventually, with the support of my friends and family and support of Tom, I decided to come out.”
Jake, who is 18 next month, officially came out in May this year, releasing a statement via his club, and it has brought him a sense of freedom.
He tells Tom revealing the truth about his sexuality was “the best thing I’ve ever done” and he’s since been inundated with support from the football community.
Jake says he hopes to inspire a new generation of footballers who might be scared to come out, and recommends: “I think if you have people to speak to – it might seem difficult to start with – but get it off your chest.
“For me, it was learning not to live my life for other people. I don’t care how someone else is going to react. I’m not here to please other people.”
Out And Proud In Football will be available on All 4 from tomorrow. That’ll be well worth a watch.
IT'S ROYAL ROMP FOR JULIANNE
THOSE missing the heady mix of sizzling sex scenes and period costumes in shows like Bridgerton, should keep their eye out for the upcoming Sky epic Mary & George.
Set in early 17th Century England, it stars Hunger Games actress Julianne Moore as real-life countess Mary Villiers who groomed her own son George to become the all-powerful lover of King James I.
The eight-parter shows how the mother and child rose from humble beginnings to become two of the richest and most influential people in England.
I understand that it’s rather a sex-soaked affair, with a particularly eye-opening orgy in the first episode.
Should be interesting for whoever gets cast as George and King James . . .
C4 race to sign Munya
CHANNEL 4 is so impressed with rising star Munya Chawawa that it is looking at developing a late-night comedy platform for him.
He found fame through his award-winning YouTube show Race Around Britain which combined elements of travelogue, chat show and sketch comedy with celebrity guests.
Munya has a pedigree with C4.
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He made an outstanding appearance on Taskmaster and his recent documentary How To Survive A Dictator With Munya Chawawa, which saw him travel to South Africa to document the life of Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe, was on the channel.
C4 would do well to get him signed up fast – he is a future star.