Main content
This programme is not currently available on BBC iPlayer

Alan Hansen: Player and Pundit

Gary Lineker presents a personal and revealing tribute to Alan Hansen, as he joins friends, family and colleagues to look back at an illustrious career as a player and a pundit.

A central character in the BBC's football coverage since 1992, Alan Hansen bowed out after the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil. Gary Lineker presents a personal and revealing tribute as Hansen joins friends, family and colleagues to look back at an illustrious career as a player and a pundit.

This very private, self-effacing family man opens up about his playing career with Scotland and Liverpool, and talks about the close relationships forged over the years with the likes of Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness and Mark Lawrenson.

As club captain of Liverpool during the 1989 Hillsborough tragedy, Hansen talks emotionally about the events of that day and how they've had a profound personal effect on him, and everyone else associated with Liverpool Football Club, over the subsequent 25 years. He also discusses the Heysel Disaster four years earlier, and reveals his disappointment at missing out on the 1986 World Cup for Scotland. And we also learn why Hansen turned his back on football management.

Lineker also looks at the massive effect his friend and colleague Hansen has had on sports broadcasting. The so-called 'King of Pundits', he revolutionised the role of the TV analyst. Along with Andy Gray, he was responsible for transforming attitudes towards football punditry. He was unafraid to criticise footballers or the establishment - passionate, forthright and above all, intelligent. Who can forget the infamous quote about the Manchester United team - 'You never win anything with kids'?

Hansen's appeal was so widespread that he even appeared in polls commissioned to find a new James Bond, became a housewife's favourite and brought female viewers to Match of the Day in the process.

There are contributions from Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness, Des Lynam, Jamie and Harry Redknapp, Jose Mourinho, Brendan Rodgers, Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Mark Lawrenson and Alan's wife Janet and children Lucy and Adam.

59 minutes

Last on

Sat 11 Jul 2020 23:25
BBC One

Music Played

Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes

  • 00:00

    Beck

    Cycle 

  • 00:00

    Beck

    Morning 

  • 00:06

    Rod Stewart

    You Wear It Well

  • 00:08

    Stealers Wheel

    Stuck In The Middle With You 

  • 00:10

    Eagles

    Hotel California

  • 00:10

    Billy Joel

    Just The Way You Are 

  • 00:12

    Badly Drawn Boy

    I Love Nye 

  • 00:14

    Blondie

    Atomic 

  • 00:15

    Chris Rea

    I Don't Know What It Is But I Love It 

  • 00:16

    Gerry Rafferty

    Baker Street 

  • 00:20

    Gerry and the Pacemakers

    You'll Never Walk Alone

  • 00:22

    Frankie Goes to Hollywood

    Two Tribes

  • 00:24

    Simple Minds

    Don't You (Forget About Me)

  • 00:26

    Beck

    Wave 

  • 00:29

    Brice Davoli

    Sadness 

  • 00:33

    Gerry and the Pacemakers

    You'll Never Walk Alone

  • 00:36

    Queen & David Bowie

    Under Pressure 

  • 00:40

    Barry Stoller

    Match of the Day

  • 00:41

    David Bowie

    Sound And Vision

  • 00:43

    Babyshambles

    You Talk 

  • 00:46

    Barry Stoller

    Match of the Day

  • 00:49

    Nirvana

    Smells Like Teen Spirit

  • 00:52

    Wayne Hill

    Left Bank Two ('Vision On Gallery' Theme Tune)

    Performer: The Noveltones.
  • 00:53

    Rod Stewart

    The First Cut Is The Deepest 

  • 00:55

    Chris James

    The Force (Song For Dylan)

  • 00:56

    Barry Stoller

    Match of the Day

  • 00:56

    Chris James

    The Force (Song For Dylan)

Credits

Presenter Gary Lineker
Participant Alan Hansen
Participant Kenny Dalglish
Participant Graeme Souness
Executive Producer Carl Doran
Producer Graham Lewis

Broadcasts

  • Fri 11 Jul 2014 22:35
    BBC One except Scotland & Scotland HD
  • Fri 11 Jul 2014 23:05
    BBC One Scotland & Scotland HD only
  • Sun 13 Jul 2014 13:15
    BBC One
  • Sat 11 Jul 2020 23:25
    BBC One