Rugby World Cup stars reunite for groundbreaking TV series coaching prisoners
England's 2003 Rugby Union World Cup winning team have reunited - to coach and play with a prison side.
Captain Martin Johnson, Jonny Wilkinson, Lawrence Dallaglio, Phil Vickery, Jason Robinson, Will Greenwood, Ben Cohen, Mike Tindall and Matt Dawson - each an England Rugby World Cup-winning legend - are going behind bars to face a unique challenge, in a new two-part ITV series.
Grand Slammers sees them enter HMP The Mount, home to one of the only remaining rugby pitches inside an adult male English prison, to attempt to build and train a team of inmates strong enough to compete against a formidable old rival, a team made up of Australian ex-pats.
The finale of the two 90-minute episodes will see the rugby legends play alongside the inmates they’ve trained to recreate the historic Rugby World Cup final from 20 years ago.
Martin Johnson (L) has reunited with Jonny Wilkinson and co for a new documentary (Getty Images)Grand Slammers was commissioned for ITV by Kate Teckman, Head of Development, Factual Entertainment. Kate said: “In this new series we’ll see some of the greatest sporting heroes England has ever produced reunite on the pitch for the first time in 20 years to go into a prison and build a rugby team with men who live their lives behind bars. For some of these England legends, rugby presented a positive pathway and an opportunity to fulfil their potential.
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"So, with re-offending rates from ex-prisoners at an alarming level, these World Cup winners are engaging with young men who've made big mistakes to show them how the game they love can offer the possibility of taking positive steps to move forward. At a moment when rugby will be in the spotlight, during this autumn’s Rugby World Cup, Grand Slammers will provide a revealing insight into both England's legends and the power of the sport that has defined so much of their lives."
Mike Tindall and his teammates will go behind the scenes at HMP The Mount (Bob Thomas Sports Photography via Getty Images)In response to statistics which show that a staggering 50 per cent of all prisoners re-offend within 12 months of release, Grand Slammers will explore how channelling their energy into team sport can have a positive effect on the lives of prisoners whilst also lowering their chances of reoffending post-release.
The project was made possible thanks to the support of HMP The Mount’s governor, John Gormley as well as the Ministry of Justice.
Kitty Walshe, CEO of makers Remarkable Factual and RDF, said: "Everyone involved passionately believes that rugby is a sport that has the power to change people’s lives and what we see unfolding across the series is often raw with a range of emotions surfacing as our England legends bring their full commitment to their work with the inmates."
The two-part series will air during the Rugby World Cup which begins next month and is also being shown on ITV. England beat Australia to win the Rugby World Cup in 2003 20-17 and became the first northern hemisphere team to win the Webb Ellis Cup.
This is not the first TV show which has tried to go into prisons to help. Channel 4 series Gordon Behind Bars in 2012 saw TV chef Gordon Ramsay teach inmates of Brixton prison how to cook.
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