Sports Life Stories is an ITV Sport documentary series shown on ITV4 and ITV. Each episode is devoted to one sporting great and lets them tell their life story alongside contributions from friends and family as well as sporting archive. The first episode told the story of boxer Barry McGuigan and aired in October 2012 on ITV4. Reporters on the series have included Gabriel Clarke, Ned Boulting, Adam Darke and Leon Mann.

Sports Life Stories
Created byITV Sport
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of series3
No. of episodes24
Production
Running time60 Minutes
Production companyITV Sport
Original release
NetworkITV4
Release23 October 2012 (2012-10-23) –
present

Episode guide

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Series 1

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# Index Guest First TX Directed by
11Barry McGuigan23 October 2012 (2012-10-23)Gabriel Clarke
Tim Mackenzie-Smith
22Gareth Thomas30 October 2012 (2012-10-30)Gabriel Clarke
Tim Mackenzie-Smith
33Ronnie O'Sullivan[1]6 November 2012 (2012-11-06)Lewis Hurt
44Dame Kelly Holmes13 November 2012 (2012-11-13)Jason Bernard
55Lawrence Dallaglio20 November 2012 (2012-11-20)Tim Mackenzie-Smith
66Amir Khan27 November 2012 (2012-11-27)Gabriel Clarke
Neil Cox
77Fabrice Muamba[2]4 December 2012 (2012-12-04)Gabriel Clarke
Lewis Hurt
88Brian Lara11 December 2012 (2012-12-11)Jason Bernard

Series 2

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# Index Guest First TX Directed by
91James Cracknell[3]22 October 2013 (2013-10-22)Gabriel Clarke
Tim Mackenzie-Smith
102David Weir[4]29 October 2013 (2013-10-29)James Williams
113Jermain Defoe5 November 2013 (2013-11-05) [5]Tim Mackenzie-Smith
124Nicola Adams12 November 2013 (2013-11-12)Jay Gill
135Jimmy White26 November 2013 (2013-11-26)Lewis Hurt
146Eric Bristow3 December 2013 (2013-12-03)Gabriel Clarke
Tim Mackenzie-Smith
157Didier Drogba10 December 2013 (2013-12-10)Daniel Hart
168Chris Eubank17 December 2013 (2013-12-17)Gabriel Clarke
Guney Gok

Series 3

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# Index Guest First TX Directed by
171Peter Shilton[6]17 February 2015 (2015-02-17)Lewis Hurt
182Chris Froome24 February 2015 (2015-02-24)Ned Boulting
Andrew Hill
193Paula Radcliffe3 March 2015 (2015-03-03)Luke Mellows
204Andy Cole[7]10 March 2015 (2015-03-10)Shurwin Beckford & Laurence Koe
215Linford Christie24 March 2015 (2015-03-24)Adam Maynard
226John Barnes[8]31 March 2015 (2015-03-31)Gabriel Clarke
Jay Gill
237Jason Robinson7 April 2015 (2015-04-07)Joe Blake-Turner
248Carl Froch14 April 2015 (2015-04-14)Martyn Reardon

Critical success

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Sports Life Stories has been described as a 'first-class interview series' by broadcaster Des Lynam[9] and as 'the best sports documentary series on television' by TV critic Ian Hyland.[10] Sports Life Stories was awarded Television Programme of the Year 2013 at the Sports Journalists' Association Awards on 24 March 2014.[11]

References

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  1. ^ "Ronnie O'Sullivan opens up over 'snooker depression' | Other Sports | Sport | London Evening Standard". standard.co.uk. 7 November 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  2. ^ "Fab viewing over on ITV Mour: 'Mourinho' and 'Fabrice Muamba: Sports Life Stories' | Metro News". metro.co.uk. 7 December 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  3. ^ "Five thing you need to know about sporting hero James Cracknell | Metro News". metro.co.uk. 22 October 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  4. ^ "David Weir: Five things you need to know about the British sporting hero | Metro News". metro.co.uk. 29 October 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  5. ^ "Jermain Defoe Sports Life Stories ITV4". itv.com. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  6. ^ "Gary Lineker shoulders some blame for England's 1990 World Cup penalty shoot-out heartbreak - Mirror Online". mirror.co.uk. 17 February 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  7. ^ "Sports Life Stories - what time is it on TV? Episode 4 Series 3 cast list and preview". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  8. ^ "Liverpool legend John Barnes claims racism is the reason he hasn't been given another crack at management - Mirror Online". mirror.co.uk. 29 March 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  9. ^ "Jason Kenny, Andrew Flintoff, Ricky Hatton and other stars are revealing the secret pain behind the glory - Telegraph". telegraph.co.uk. 16 November 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  10. ^ "Lady Gaga's performance on X Factor's 'Movie Week' was like a tribute to the soft porn genre - Ian Hyland - Mirror Online". mirror.co.uk. 28 October 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  11. ^ "Lennon and Samuel land SJA's major prizes « Sports Journalists' Association". sportsjournalists.co.uk. 24 March 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2016.