David Beckham embarks on an expedition to the Amazon that will see him encounter the other side of Brazil and journey through the tropical rainforest for a special BBC One documentary to air before the World Cup.
In this special 90-minute film to be shown days before football’s greatest showpiece kicks off in Sao Paulo, ‘David Beckham Into The Unknown’ sees the former England captain fly over 5,000 miles from his home in London to South America to experience the “real Brazil”.
One of the most decorated football players of all time, Beckham is joined by his close friends Derek White and Dave Gardner to experience the isolation of the jungle on a once in a lifetime expedition, with world renowned director Anthony Mandler capturing their exploits on film.
In this unique TV first, BBC cameras follow the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star as he cooks, camps and fishes with his friends in the heart of the dense Amazon rainforest.
After a glittering 22-year career playing for the world’s greatest football teams, Beckham retired from football at the end of the 2012/13 season.
For the first time in his adult life, he has the freedom to do whatever he wants and to mark the occasion he’s going on an adventure.
He’s chosen Brazil, on motorbikes, and is travelling with three of his closest friends: Anthony Mandler, world-renowned photographer and video director, Derek White, an experienced motorbike rider who’ll get them out of a mechanical fix, and Dave Gardner, his best friend since they were 14 years old.
First stop is Rio and it only takes minutes for Beckham to be spotted by fans and paparazzi, but the motorbikes give them a speedy getaway and the crash helmet creates the anonymity he craves.
They escape to a favela called Vidigal and passing a foot-volleyball game down on Sao Conrado beach, Beckham cannot resist the temptation and plays with the locals until the sun goes down. They can’t believe their luck.
The next day they fly to Manaus, tropical gateway to the Amazon, and make their way deep into the Amazon where David is unknown.
They enjoy the freedom of the bikes on the open road but are out of their comfort zone when night falls and they have to bed down in hammocks, in pretty basic conditions.
Leaky canoes take them deep along Amazon tributaries where six-feet long anacondas lurk in the water and while Anthony and Derek take a leap of faith and jump in, David and Dave keep their kit on and watch from the sidelines.
The further they travel into the rainforest, the more David relaxes and reflects on his surroundings. He hasn’t done anything like this before, but embraces what the jungle has to offer.
He goes fishing with the locals and camps out under the jungle canopy, becoming a dab hand at making a fire and filleting fish.
After almost 800 miles of boat and bike travel, the group reaches a tiny airstrip that will take them deep into the jungle to a remote territory where few Westerners have been, to meet the Yanomami tribe.
For Beckham and his friends, this trip is a reality they have never known before and the former England star has described the experience as ‘humbling’ and at times ‘terrifying’.
Discussing how the documentary came about, Beckham told the BBC: “The film is something I’ve never been able to do before now.
“When Anthony and I first started talking about it we wanted to go to a place where I had actually been before but in a different direction and this was how we came up with going to the Amazon.
“I’m a big motorbike rider and so are two of my three friends that came with me on this trip, so it was the kind of journey that had no schedule.
“My whole life, my whole career has been about having a particular schedule that I’ve always kept to, so we just wanted to be able to jump on the bikes and do what we wanted wherever we wanted.
“It was important to also find somewhere where I was unrecognisable, and we found that. It was a really special journey.
“We met some incredible people along the way, saw some amazing things, all in a country that is the home of football.
Michele Kurland, a BAFTA-winning producer and creative director at Remarkable Television, makers of the documentary, added: “When you consider the life of a professional footballer it’s easy to forget that there are numerous things they can’t do in their free time – they can’t ski, they can’t ride motorbikes because of the risk of injury.
“They have to be protected. So, for 22 years David Beckham has never done any of these things and when he retired the question arose: what if David Beckham were to go off and do something completely different and experience not being so protected.
“David is an iconic figure and I think that we are all fascinated by fame and how people can be presented to the public.
“The level of David’s fame is like nothing I’ve ever seen before, but I actually realised that there wasn’t a great deal about him out there.
“He does lots of interviews and does a lot of work for charity, but you rarely get a sense of what he’s really like.”
‘David Beckham Into The Unknown’ forms part of a wide selection of World Cup-related programmes on BBC TV in the build-up to the tournament, reflecting the wide diversity, culture and wonder of Brazil.
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Monday 9th June
David Beckham Into The Unknown
8.30pm-10.00pm BBC One
Available via BBC iPlayer shortly after transmission
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