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Airdate: Ben Cousins: Coming Clean

Basil Zempilas interview with former AFL star will screen next Sunday night on Seven.

Former AFL star Ben Cousins is the subject of a news documentary, Ben Cousins: Coming Clean.

Basil Zempilas, who spent a week with Cousins during the filming of the documentary, said: “I’m close to the Ben Cousins story and have been for a long time now. I didn’t think anything he could say would surprise me, but even I was shocked. It’s explosive, compelling and emotional. With everything we’ve seen and read the natural inclination is to write Ben off, but despite his struggles he remains remarkably resilient. It’s a battle but I wouldn’t bet against him.”

From Brownlow medallist to prisoner. The epic new chapter on one of the greatest sporting downfalls in Australian history.

To footy fans Australia-wide, Ben Cousins was an AFL god. A hero and legend of the game.

But off the field, Cousin’s life went spectacularly off the rails – brought down by a decade-long and very public addiction to drugs.

The last time Cousins spoke publicly was 10 years ago. A lot has happened in that time, including two recent stints behind bars.

Relentless speculation and innuendo about his health and state of mind have shadowed him every step of the way.

Now Cousins is ‘coming clean’ … and nothing is off limits in this landmark 7News Documentary: powerful admissions about drugs, jail time, and his surprising future.

For the deeply troubled and often unpredictable Cousins, he says after years of silence it’s time to address the many unanswered questions and to set the record straight as part of his ongoing and tenuous recovery – for his family, friends, former colleagues and the public.

Updated: Sunday 29 March at 8pm on Seven.

7 Responses

  1. Hmm. A Sunday Night-style program on Sunday night. Perhaps it has dawned on that new boss at Seven what a mistake the axing of Sunday Night was. And then when they check the balance sheet without all that money Sydney Weekender was bringing in they’ll realise that axing that TV institution was a huge mistake as well.

    1. Not quite. It’s a one-off special under Seven News banner. They made the decision it was cheaper to address stories as needed this way. There was some reprieve for a handful of local travel shows.

    1. Disagree…there are tens of thousands of people addicted to Ice in Australia, and if watching this doco helps just a handful to enter recovery, then it’s a good thing. I’ve been in and out of recovery from Ice myself for years, and from personal experience, writing someone off doesn’t help.

      1. Thank you….I was also going to post a somewhat disparaging comment….
        You made me stop and take a big step back…easy to be a key board warrior….Sorry….?

      2. I respect and appreciate you telling us that here, Gaz. I must confess to having a sterner approach to drug abuse and I recognise there are people who struggle with addiction, but considering how many failings Cousens has had, I would much rather see someone profiled who has fought and won against meth, not continues to lose. Surely that would stand more of a chance to help a handful to enter recovery more than more wallowing in the ‘tragedy’ of a fallen hero (which we’ve already seen too much of)?

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