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Steve Bunce and Lennox Lewis on one of the most recognisable and enduring figures in sport, Boxing promoter Don King, with contributions from rivals, law enforcers and fighters
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This episode contains content that some listeners may find upsetting.
Ant Middleton served in the most elite units of the British military before transferring his skills and experiences to TV. From 2015-2021 Ant was Chief Instructor on Channel 4’s ‘SAS: Who Dares Wins’. On the celebrity version of the programme one of his ‘recruits' was a certain former World Champion boxer called Tony Bellew. Ant pushed Tony to his physical and mental limits on the show.
The two have remained friends and in this episode they share a very insightful and honest conversation that demonstrates their deeply held mutual respect. Ant reveals how his experiences in the military ranged from the highs of discovering just what he was capable of, to the lows of mental trauma that will remain with him throughout his life.
His anger stories range from the everyday to the battlefield extreme… but it’s the way he has learnt to use his anger positively that really hits home. This is a must-listen for anyone who gets angry (that’s all of us) and is interested in learning how to harness those feelings in a more constructive way.
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Joey Barton built himself a hugely successful career as a footballer, but the flip side was his reputation as being fiery on the field and often in trouble off it. He played 269 times in the Premier League for Manchester City, Newcastle, QPR and Burnley and also made one appearance for England.
Controversy has always followed Joey around and he speaks candidly in this interview about moments where anger got the better of him. We hear about the remarkable impact on Joey of an anger management professional who has taught him a new way to approach life. There’s a fascinating exploration of how Joey’s highs and lows have shaped him as a manager and leader… plus the inside track on a missed debut and the infamous French accent he once spoke with during a Marseille press conference.
Joey and Tony are friends and this conversation shows the trust and honesty they share. Joey makes it clear that he has regrets and his battles with anger are ongoing, but he shares insights, thoughts and experiences that go way beyond the portrait that has often been painted of him by others.
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Millie Bright is a mainstay of the European Championship-winning England Women’s Football team - the Lionesses. Picked for every game during last year’s successful Euros campaign, she’s won multiple honours for her club side Chelsea and is one of the best footballers in the world. She opens up to Tony about the challenges in her early career when women’s football didn’t have the platform, exposure and investment it is starting to get now. Her anger stories range from on-pitch antagonism to off-pitch family matters. It’s a fascinating insight into the mindset of someone who is right now at the very top of their profession. The conversation reveals a determined, principled and team-oriented character who has worked hard to develop the physical and mental skills needed to get the very best out of herself and others around her.
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Michael B. Jordan is the lead actor and director of upcoming Hollywood blockbuster Creed 3. A critically-acclaimed and world-famous A-list movie star, Michael has acted and boxed alongside Tony as they have collaborated on the Creed films. Michael and Tony are friends and they talk openly and honestly here, in a way that you don’t often hear from the biggest stars. Michael gives new insights into his career, character and approach to life. His anger stories vary from everyday annoyances to social justice. This is a conversation based on mutual respect and trust… and it speaks to what is required to make it to the very top of an industry whilst living by your values.
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Tom Davis is a writer, comedian and actor who has made a name for himself with hit TV shows Murder in Successville and King Gary. With movie acting credits in Paddington 2 and the upcoming Wonka, Tom’s profile is on the rise… but he started in the media industry later than most. Tony explores with Tom how his background has shaped his attitude and approach. Tom is open about the fact that he has a chip on his shoulder and he explains to Tony how anger affects him. From laugh-out-loud to serious, Tom’s anger stories reveal a man who values fairness and has a strong desire to succeed.
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Vicky Pattison started her TV career in her early twenties when she was the standout star in reality show Geordie Shore. That kick-started a career and celebrity life lived almost entirely in the media spotlight. Vicky explains to Tony how the pressures of having her life on camera led her to long periods of deeply held anger and how it is only years later that she has been able to process her experiences. Tony uncovers a completely different side to Vicky compared to how she is characterised from her Geordie Shore days. They share fascinating insights into what drives them as people and how the things that annoy them relate to their deeply held values and desire to progress.
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This episode contains a description of animal cruelty that some listeners might find disturbing. Duncan Ferguson is a Premier League footballing legend. Known for his competitive spirit, 100% effort and total commitment on the pitch, as a player, he was as tough as they come. A personal hero of Tony’s, in this honest and reflective conversation Duncan the person emerges from the outline of Ferguson the footballer. He addresses some of his well-documented moments of anger and offers fascinating explanations, lessons learned and things he would change if he could. He talks about his ambitions for the future and shares stories from his earlier life that make sense of the combative player he became. There is hard-learned and heartfelt advice on offer to the generations of players that follow in his footsteps trying to fulfil their potential both on and off the pitch.
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Joe Marler is of the biggest characters in modern Rugby, as well as a highly effective and successful player. For England and the Lions, as well as with his club side Harlequins, Joe is known for his competitiveness and will to win. He explains to Tony how his ability to get under his opponent’s skin can provide him with an edge, but also cause him problems. Behind the crazy hair styles and prop forward bravado, Joe has had to deal with his own mental health issues, which he talks about powerfully and honestly. Tony and Joe also discuss how getting help enabled Joe to both continue his career and develop a willingness to learn and try new things.
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This episode discusses issues that some people might find distressing. If you are suffering distress or despair, details of help and support are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.
Paddy Pimblett is one of the most popular and successful fighters in the world of mixed martial arts. He has made a huge impact in both Cage Warriors and UFC. Blessed with vast natural ability, Paddy explains to Tony how he has had to learn to listen to others to fulfil his potential. Tony and Paddy both come from Liverpool and explore how the psyche of the city and its people have fuelled them both. Paddy’s anger stories reveal the pressures that responsibility, the opinions of others and outside events can have on all of us. This is an honest and powerful conversation that gets to the heart of what makes a fighter tick.
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Bugzy Malone’s ‘King of the North’ album cemented his place as a leading light in the UK grime scene and propelled him towards international stardom in music and film.
Tony and Bugzy have a lot in common, including the types of challenges they faced growing up. Bugzy shares key episodes of anger from his life and discusses how he has grown, adapted and improved. We hear how sudden material success put a strain on years-old friendships.
As two fellow boxers, Tony and Bugzy discuss hard-learned lessons from the ring. There are stories of how respect between the generations is earned and negotiated. Plus, Bugzy gives his take on how he handled an explosive situation where choosing the wrong actions wasn’t an option.
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Steven Bartlett’s Diary of a CEO podcast tops the charts most weeks. But he rarely goes on other people’s podcasts. Making an exception for Tony he steps into the ring to chat all things anger.We hear about life growing up as the only black kid in a white area of Plymouth, racism and why anger has a special place in business.How his career started aged 10 selling cigarettes nicked from his mum.Why poverty led him to hanging out in chicken shops looking for left over chicken bones.Why his dream of getting a million pounds, a six-pack, a girlfriend and a fancy car by the time he was twenty-five didn’t change him for the better.How he rejects disadvantage and won’t be limited by it.And how to accept that you are already enough.
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Boxer Derek Chisora has fought most of the greats including Tyson Fury but he's never fought Tony!
Instead of getting into the ring for a fight he steps up for a frank chat about anger. And as someone known as much for his pre-match antics as his boxing, as well as controversies away from the boxing ring, there is much to talk about.
They talk giving up alcohol, regret, growing up in Zimbabwe, losing the sugar, throwing tables and slapping the mayor of Kiev.
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One of the world’s top boxing promoters Eddie Hearn tells Tony what winds him up and how he keeps things under control.Eddie admits early on that he’s quick to calm down when he gets angry before revealing it’s actually Tony who is one of the angriest people he’s ever met!He talks rudeness, mobile phones and why anger is bad in the boxing ring and bad in business.He admits he hates being told how to look after his kids by other people and why he’s really just a failed athlete.He reveals the chip he had on his shoulder about being ‘Barry Hearn’s son’ and why you should NEVER PUT TONY BELLEW IN A BOX.A great insight into boxing, anger or the lack of it, and a loyal relationship between a boxer and his promoter!
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He never got booked during his entire career so does anything wind up Gary Lineker? Tony manages to dig up a few things! From having four sons who fought all the time to nearly losing it when a Russian referee refused to penalise anyone for booting him all through a match in Turkey, Gary reveals there’s been a few things to make him grumpy over the years.He admits politics can annoy him and he’s not immune to a spot of road rage either.We find out what was going on with that infamous chip penalty Gary missed against Brazil, the angriest players he ever played with, how Maradona’s ‘hand of God’ goal affected him and how in fact England should have won that match 1-0 with Gary the winning scorer. He reveals where he gets his laid back nature from, how his dad was actually quite an angry man and the only thing he looks back on with regret.He tells the crazy story of watching BBC’s Newsnight programme on the hacking scandal only to discover on it that he’d been followed by a tabloid for two years.
And he shares the horrific experience of his eldest son being diagnosed with leukaemia as a baby and thinking they were going to lose him. Some great, honest and revealing chat from ‘the nicest man in football’.
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The first British female boxer to qualify for the Olympic games who just captured the WBO Light Middleweight Championship of the World, Tony chats to Natasha Jonas ‘the Queen of Liverpool boxing’, about the things that make her angry.
Tony and Tasha have known each other since they were kids growing up in the South of Liverpool so there's a lot to chat about! But of course Tony has to start by asking Tasha about her recent title win. They go on to chat about why boxing referees aren’t held accountable, getting kids ready for school, not getting picked to captain the PE team, Tasha’s US soccer career going down the pan, injury and depression, being the first scouse Olympian and those missed penalties at the Euros. Plus Tasha reveals the shocking story that affected her family and made her the angriest she's ever been.
An amazing insight into the world of one of Britain's best female boxers.
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Scouser and comedy legend John Bishop steps into the ring with Tony for one hell of a chat. We learn that John once asked to have his picture taken with Tony after a boxing match and Tony refused. Listen to find out why! John reveals why his dad and his uncle can never watch a Merseyside derby together for the rest of their lives.He tells us what he discovered having his hair cut by his wife’s hairdresser, why having a scouse accent makes you sound angrier than you are and why frustration and ambition as a young lad led to anger.Tony and him compare notes on growing older as men, what it teaches you and how to accept you can’t have it all. They chat Richard Pryor, Billy Connolly, showing working class people on TV and Tony Soprano. And we hear some spectacular angry moments from John involving Jamie Redknapp, a boat and missing the 2005 Champions League Final that ultimately led him to throwing his career away and starting again in comedy. Yet another cracking episode, they go deep, they laugh, there are revelations. It’s got it all.
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Musician, radio DJ and former X-Factor star Fleur East reveals some jaw-dropping angry moments to Tony. From the shocking revelation she was told to straighten her hair to make it in the music industry to being treated badly by customers at the bar where she worked. She talks about getting up at 4am for work, stubbing toes on beds and road rage. Tony and Fleur compare notes on instant fame, going on reality TV and being poked in the back by fans in Nandos and they share their experiences of being mixed race and fighting in nightclubs.
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David Harewood, the British actor and star of Hollywood TV show Homeland, opens up to Tony in this brutally open and honest chat.
He talks about growing up as a Black kid in Birmingham in the 1960s and the incident of racism aged seven that tore his identity apart. He describes the mental breakdown in his twenties that he revisited for his BBC documentary ‘Psychosis and Me’ and how close he had been to losing his life. We hear how a teacher at secondary school led him to acting, why tech winds him up more than anything and how he’s returned to the UK to live in a normal area and keep away from the showbiz types.
David also reveals he only had eighty quid left in the bank when he auditioned and got the part in Homeland. Tony and him share their experiences of losing close friends and the pain of grief. And David reveals his dream job would be to play a James Bond baddie.
What can we say, it's a tear-jerker.
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Please be aware that the following extremely frank chat with David includes discussions of the racism he’s encountered, strong language including racist language and descriptions of emotional distress. Help and support with mental health and racist hate-crime is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline
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Michael Bisping, Britain’s most decorated MMA fighter of all time, sits down for a chat about anger (and other things) with Tony. We hear how he quit his job in a factory to get into MMA before anyone even knew what it was in the UK. They chat comebacks and how on earth he fights with the use of only one eye. They discuss whether trash talk works (but don’t call it that!), getting into scraps as a kid, Michael getting anger management classes in the US, when anger has helped their fighting and when it hasn’t, what makes him blind with rage, what roles he’ll take in movies and why the movie Rocky helped him face his emotions. We also hear how a yucca plant was involved in the angriest he’s ever been, Tony talks about the night he cried himself to sleep and Michael reveals his BIG take on Jake Paul – the fighter he reckons he’s going to end up taking on next in the UK…it’ll make you laugh!
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