George Best: All By Himself

Director's Take

You think you know George Best. You think you know his story. For me the challenge of making this documentary was to find a way to tell this story and makes you think again. 'George Best: All By Himself' has it all. Booze. Sex. Success. Stardom. A spectacular rise. And a tragic fall. When I was younger, I was so jealous of one of my school friends who had actually seen George Best play. Never mind that the game in question was when Best played for Fulham - long after his heights at Man United. No matter that my friend was only three years old when he saw Best, and fell asleep in the second half. What was most impressive was that he'd actually SEEN George Best play. Sadly, I never would, although I spent a lot of time in his company whilst we both worked at Sky Sports in the mid 1990s. Me at the beginning of my career, on Soccer AM. Best was a regular pundit on the show that followed us, Soccer Saturday. His wasn't always a guaranteed appearance. There were many stories of him being pulled out of a pub, bundled into a cab, and brought to the studio in a less-than-sober state. There were several no-shows from him. But he was probably the most popular of the ex players. He was clearly genuine, and kind-hearted. And he was also clearly in trouble and in need of help. As a kid, I just loved George Best. I would gasp with admiration whenever I saw old highlights of him, his skills on the pitch, his smoothness off the pitch. I read his autobiography before I was ten years old, having come across it at a stall at my primary school summer fair. It all seemed effortless. Yet in making this documentary, I would soon come to realize that for Best, life was far from effortless. And as there was no precedent for him, he was the ultimate football superstar pioneer. And sadly his was also the most notorious - and public - of implosions. Best means so much to so many people. Strong yet vulnerable. A rarity in being accepted - and celebrated - by ALL of Northern Ireland - and even rarer in uniting this most divided of countries. I see 'George Best: All By Himself' as a tribute to a legend - a tale interwoven with brilliant archive and contribution - from his down-to-earth family to his glamorous celebrity friends - and a warning to future generations of how NOT to cope with it all.