Jack STRIKES back!

Missing the Olympics and Euro 2020? Never fear, armchair fan Jack Whitehall is here to take a light-hearted look at Britain’s sporting history…

- IAN MACEWAN

With live sport only now returning after months of lockdown, fans are in for a treat over the next six weeks as comedian Jack Whitehall presents a celebration of the greatest stories, personalities and moments in the history of British sport.

His new show, Jack Whitehall’s Sporting Nation, delves into the archives to take a light-hearted look back at our sporting track record, and examines what our love of sport tells us about ourselves as a nation.

Here, Whitehall, who turns 32 on 7 July, reveals just what’s in store…

Why did you want to make this series?

The British public has lost over 100 hours of sport this summer, with the Olympics, Euro 2020 and Wimbledon being wiped off the schedule. So we came up with the idea of Sporting Nation, a look at some of the greatest moments in our sporting story. The whole show will be pure, unadulterated nostalgia.

How would you describe the series?

It’s not just one of those ‘100 greatest sporting moments’ shows with a load of old clips. We collate these famous achievements and memories to see what they say about us as a country, and what our love affair with sport means.

What sports are you looking at?

We wanted to make sure we took in lots of different sports – not just football – so we have people in there like ski jumper Eddie the Eagle, ice skaters Torvill and Dean and snooker player Dennis Taylor.

Do you watch a lot of sport?

I can watch any sport and get involved. I could sit down in front of the Winter Olympics and find myself obsessed with curling for a week. Or watch a documentary about Torvill and Dean and find myself genuinely enthralled.