The Long View

Original version

BBC Radio 4 LW

Factual: History

History series in which stories from the past shed light on current events

Jonathan Freedland presents the series in which stories from the past are compared with current events.

BBC Radio 4 FM

The Long View: The Long View of Celebrity Sports Campaigners

The Long View of Celebrity Sports Campaigners

BBC Radio 4 - The Long View, The Long View of Celebrity Sports Campaigners

Jonathan Freedland compares celebrity sports campaigners past and present.

Jonathan Freedland draws parallels between footballer Marcus Rashford's successful meal voucher extension campaign and the fund raising efforts of an 18th century prize fighter.

When the Manchester United and England footballer Marcus Rashford persuaded the government to change policy and extend through the summer holidays the introduction of food vouchers for children who would normally have free school meals, it was celebrated as both a triumph for Rashford and a quintessentially 21st century example of celebrity culture.  Where campaigners in the field of child poverty had failed, a high profile footballer had cut through.
But a sporting hero using his status to further ends with no connection to his profession is not as new as it sounds.  In the late 1700s the prize fighter John Jackson won a reputation as an altruistic gentleman as well as a triumphant competitor in the Prize ring when he raised a huge sum of money to support Portuguese families made homeless by the invasion of the French during the Peninsular war.  He went on to raise money for other causes until he became known not as John, but 'Gentleman' John Jackson.
What impact Jackson's, and indeed Rashford's, actions had, and might have, on their career, and what it tells us about both today's and the 18th century's attitudes to celebrity is the subject of this, the last in the current series of The Long View.
Jonathan Freedland is joined by the historian Peter Radford, the CEO of the Child Poverty Action Group Alison Garnham, Jennifer Williams of the Manchester Evening News and the sports commentator Conor McNamara.

Producer:  Tom Alban

BBC Radio 4

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The Long View

The Long View of Celebrity Sports Campaigners

Genres

Brand

BBC Radio 4 LW

About BBC Radio 4