Linford Christie

Daley Thompson is taken from the streets of his boyhood in Notting Hill to Olympia, the site of the Ancient Games where his iconic event began, an epic journey told from around the world: with Seb Coe at the 2023 World Championships in Hungary; with former nemesis and now friend Jurgen Hingsen at the Coliseum in Los Angeles, the setting for their titanic battle in 1984, where Daley’s irresistible will to win snatched victory from the German world record holder and firm favourite; and with Caitlyn Jenner, the legendary American decathlete, who Daley watched in awe, when, as Bruce, he set a new benchmark for the decathlon at the Montreal Games.

World in Action was Granada Television’s flagship ITV current affairs series, running from 7 Jan 1963 to 7 Dec 1998, and built a reputation for film-led investigative reporting and a forceful editorial stance. Its journalism produced major public and political repercussions—including investigations associated with miscarriages of justice such as the Birmingham Six—and it also served as a platform for landmark documentary projects, including the first broadcast of “Seven Up!” as part of the strand in 1964.

Sporting legends speak honestly and candidly about their careers, giving a fascinating insight into the mindset required to reach the very top of their game.