"He was just very kind, articulate, and a smashing gentleman. And I was very grateful that he didn't wring my neck." That's Joseph Fiennes, after finally coming face-to-face with the man he'd spent months impersonating on stage and screen — Gareth Southgate.
With the World Cup looming, BBC's Dear England has landed on BINGE at exactly the right moment for fans wanting to get in the mood. The four-part dramatisation charts Southgate's eight-year tenure as England manager — the semi-final runs, the heartbreak finals, the cultural reset he forced on a squad that had spent decades underachieving and deflecting.
Too starstruck to do his research in person
Fiennes, BAFTA and Emmy-nominated and no stranger to high-profile roles, admitted he deliberately avoided meeting Southgate before taking on the part — first for the National Theatre run of James Graham's play, which won Best New Play at the 2024 Olivier Awards, and then again for the BBC adaptation. His preparation was limited to Sky Sports coverage and public interviews.
"I was left to Sky Sports and interviews that don't give you the full story," he told Esquire. Not exactly method acting. But fear was part of it — Fiennes describes Southgate as an idol, and that kind of reverence can freeze you.
The inevitable meeting came at a King's Trust gala, squeezed between the theatre run and the start of filming. Fiennes was preparing to go on stage when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Southgate. One metre away. Smiling.
Fiennes's response? He asked for a selfie.
Why Southgate makes for compelling drama
It's not hard to see why a playwright chose him as subject matter. Southgate took England to a World Cup semi-final in 2018 — their deepest run in 28 years — and back-to-back European Championship finals in 2021 and 2024, losing both. He's the most successful England manager since Alf Ramsey, the only man to actually win something with the national team, back in 1966.
But the drama isn't just results. Southgate actively confronted issues around masculinity, racism, and the psychological toll placed on young athletes — topics that English football had historically buried under bravado and tabloid noise. That's the territory Dear England is most interested in, and it's what Fiennes says he wanted audiences to connect with beyond the waistcoat and the prosthetics.
Southgate resigned after the Euro 2024 final defeat. At 55, his next chapter is unwritten. Fiennes, for his part, already got his selfie.
