Airdate: Sir Bobby Charlton: First Gentleman of Football

BBC World News will screen documentary Sir Bobby Charlton: First Gentleman of Football to coincide with Brit’s 80th birthday.

Sir Bobby was a key member of the England team that won the World Cup on home soil in 1966 and part of a Manchester United team touched by success and tragedy in equal measure.

Charlton survived the Munich Air disaster in 1958 which killed several of his teammates dubbed the ‘Busby Babes’. He became a crucial figure in the club’s resurgence, winning two league titles and unforgettably in 1968 the European Cup against Benfica. Renowned for his attacking instincts and ferocious long-range shot until recently he held goal scoring records for England and Manchester United.

He received a knighthood in 1994 and was awarded the prestigious BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008. A fiercely proud Englishman, Charlton remains a pivotal figure at Manchester United as an ambassador, Club Director and close confidante of a succession of managers. He is still working as he approaches his 80th birthday and devotes much of his time to his Find a Better Way charity which researches ways of detecting and clearing landmines.

The programme features poignant contributions on the Munich crash from survivors including Sir Bobby himself. We also hear from the biggest names in world football like Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Geoff Hurst, David Beckham, Eric Cantona, Rio Ferdinand, Denis Law, Harry Gregg, Gordon Banks, Ryan Giggs, Wayne Rooney, plus Bobby’s brothers Jack and Tom Charlton, who all pay tribute to the much-loved man they simply call ‘Sir Bobby’.

12.30pm Saturday on BBC World News.