Sir Alex: New BBC Sport and BBC Scotland documentary and podcast looks at the life and career of a legend

A new two-part, in-depth documentary, created by BBC Sport and BBC Scotland launches on BBC iPlayer on Boxing Day. Sir Alex looks at the incredible life and career of the most decorated football manager in British history.

Football fans can watch both episodes on 1 and 2 January on the BBC Scotland channel, and on BBC One early 2025.

An accompanying six-part podcast, Sporting Giants: Sir Alex Ferguson, will also be available on BBC Sounds from 26 December and on BBC Radio 5 Live across the festive period, with a bonus episode on 3 January.

Sir Alex includes first-hand accounts from a host of former players and adversaries including Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, Gordon Strachan and Sir Kenny Dalglish who all reveal what it was like to play for Sir Alex’s all-conquering Manchester United and Aberdeen teams, while exploring the Scot’s origins and his legendary will to win.

Manchester United legends including Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke, Nicky Butt, Jaap Stam and Denis Irwin provide a fascinating insight into how Ferguson’s unwavering belief in young players enabled him to create a footballing dynasty at Manchester United, building a team around David Beckham, Paul Scholes and their ‘Class of 92’ cohort, who would ultimately become European champions in 1999.

As Ferguson faces intense rivalries with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho, Nemanja Vidic, Michael Carrick, Rooney and Ferdinand share their accounts of the post-1999 years and explain how their manager showed his ruthless side, re-inventing himself and his team to bring through the likes of Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo as he returned to the top of English, and then European football, for a second time in 2008.

Ferguson’s humble Glasgow upbringing, his playing career and the incredible underdog story at Aberdeen – the club in which he first reaped the rewards of his youth policy with victory in the 1983 European Cup Winners’ Cup over continental giants Real Madrid – provide the unique backdrop to the story of Sir Alex.

Alex Kay-Jelski, BBC Director of Sport says: “There are few more pivotal people in the history of British sport than Sir Alex Ferguson. So it is a honour for us to tell his story. Featuring behind-the-scenes footage, entertaining dressing room anecdotes and fascinating insight from his former players, assistant managers and coaches, as well as journalists who have followed his incomparable career every step of the way, this documentary digs deep into the character traits that explain how and why the son of a Scottish shipbuilder became one of the most influential figures in football. This is BBC Sport at its finest and we hope you enjoy it.”

In the podcast series, presented by Kelly Cates and Jonathan Northcroft, listeners will be taken even deeper into Ferguson’s story. There’s also a special bonus episode in which Celtic and Liverpool legend Sir Kenny Dalglish talks exclusively about his lifelong rivalry and friendship with his fellow Glaswegian Ferguson.

Sir Alex consists of two 60-minute episodes and an accompanying six-part podcast on BBC Sounds – Sporting Giants: Sir Alex Ferguson.

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