Ian Wright is set to make a BBC documentary about his “abusive” childhood
Image Source/ Sky Sports
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The 56-year-old former footballer is to speak to victims of domestic abuse as he takes an emotional look back at his “traumatic childhood”.
A source told The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre TV column:
‘Ian is known for his easy-going nature and infectious laugh which has made him one of the nation’s favourite footballers and TV pundits.
‘But behind the smiles lies an incredibly traumatic childhood which Ian wants to tell in his own words. He had an abusive stepfather who would cruelly make him face the wall when Match Of The Day was on’.
Ian is said to be hoping the documentary will remove the taboo around abuse.
The source added:
‘This isn’t just about Wrighty, though. It’s to give a voice to victims of abuse and to give them hope.
‘It’s also incredibly rare to see a black man talking about these experiences. He hopes that will remove some of the taboo around topics like abuse. It’s going to be a powerful piece of work’.
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The former Arsenal player grew up in London with his stepfather who was “rough” to his mother and siblings, and he was particularly harsh to Ian by emotionally bullying him.
Ian previously said:
‘He was a real… how can I say this? He was a weed-smoking, gambling, coming-home-late, gambling-his-wages, womanising kind of guy. He was rough with my mum and rough with all of us kids.
‘And I don’t know why, but he didn’t like me in particular. Maybe it was because I was the youngest boy, but some of the stuff he did? He’d go out of his way to be cruel in all sorts of other ways – and over the oddest things’.
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