BBCWW grabs Andy Murray Wimbledon title

BBC Worldwide has acquired distribution rights to one-off doc Andy Murray: The Man Behind the Racquet, which goes behind the scenes to paint a portrait of the new Wimbledon winner.

Murray fever is at a peak in the UK, where the Scot last week became Great Britain’s first tennis player in 77 years to win the Gentlemen’s singles tournament at Wimbledon, and BBCWW is hoping to ride the wave of interest internationally.

“This documentary provides a rare opportunity to observe a world class athlete during such an historic time,” said BBCWW’s head of sport Danny O’Toole.

The 1x60mins doc broadcast on the BBC on the eve of the tournament earlier this month.

It comes from an in-house BBC production team, who followed the now two-time Grand Slam champion as he trained for Wimbledon. The programme also includes interviews with his family; girlfriend Kim Sears; coach Ivan Lendl; tennis icon John McEnroe; rivals Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer; former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson; and celebrities such as James Corden.

The international version also includes Murray’s reflections on his victory, over world no. 1 and long time friend Djokovic, on July 7.