Gareth Southgate play to be updated after Euros defeat

Playwright James Graham said the last eight years of English football had been “remarkable"

A Nottinghamshire writer who penned a play about England manager Gareth Southgate will rewrite the script to reflect the Three Lions’ Euro 2024 journey.

James Graham said he would change the ending of Dear England to include the drama following the defeat to Spain on Sunday.

The writer, who is originally from Mansfield, was also asked to write the script for a two-minute montage that was broadcast ahead of the BBC’s final coverage.

He said the last eight years of English football had been “remarkable”.

Dear England, which originated as a National Theatre play of the same name, will be turned into a four-part television drama for BBC One.

The play stars Joseph Fiennes as the England boss Gareth Southgate

Mr Graham told BBC Breakfast: “I am [going to rewrite the ending]. You have to, don’t you?

“The audience would be sat there knowing what happens in Germany, so we are going to update it to include this ending over the upcoming days and weeks.”

“It feels bad this morning but it feels different now being an England fan than it did in the early noughties and 2010s.

“That’s what inspires me – [Southgate] is not what you would consider to be a normal protagonist warrior figure. He is softer and quieter than that but he’s done something really loud and really epic.”

England were beaten 2-1 by Spain in the Euro 2024 final in Berlin on Sunday after an 86th minute winner from Mikel Oyarzabal.

Southgate, aged 53, has been in charge since 2016 but his current contract is due to expire in December.

Mr Graham called him the “unlikely hero” after he was initially only appointed on a caretaker basis following the departure of Sam Allardyce.

He added: “Something has happened that’s been completely transformative, and for me personally I didn’t need to get to the very end of that story for it to be impactful, beautiful, meaningful, emotional – we’re on a journey, it’s not a destination.

“Gareth Southgate has laid some extraordinary tracks that I think are going to get us to that destination terminus at some point very soon in our future.

“I suspect that we have to stop thinking of it as a wait. We are going to have to eventually learn as England fans to enjoy that journey and get joy from it.

“If we don’t get joy from it what is the point of putting ourselves through that every time?”

Follow BBC Nottingham on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail] or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.