Nicola Howson, co-founder of Studio 99, discusses Beckham’s coping mechanisms and the challenges of modern-day players

David Beckham was largely unaware of the media vitriol directed at him during his football career, thanks to the absence of social media at the time, according to Nicola Howson, who co-founded Studio 99 with the football icon.

Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Howson explained that Beckham’s manager and father advised him to avoid reading media coverage about himself. As a result, Beckham was shielded from much of the negativity, including the infamous effigy incident in 1998, when he received heavy criticism following England’s World Cup semi-final loss to Argentina. Howson revealed that Beckham only learned about the effigy after watching the 2023 documentary series Beckham, when director Fisher Stevens showed it to him.

Howson stated, “He didn’t know what was being said about him back then because he had a manager that said don’t read it, and the dad who said it’s all nonsense.” She added that Beckham had never seen much of the vitriol, as social media didn’t exist during his playing days.

Reflecting on the pressures faced by modern-day players, Howson expressed her concerns about how athletes cope with the constant negativity on social media. “I don’t care who you are, and how strong a person David Beckham is mentally. I don’t know how he would have done that,” she said.

In discussing the Beckham documentary, Howson explained how she persuaded Fisher Stevens to direct the series. Initially, Stevens had turned down the offer three times, but ultimately agreed after hearing encouragement from Succession creators Jesse Armstrong and Tony Roche. Howson added that Victoria Beckham played a pivotal role in convincing Stevens, stating, “If we’re going to do this, we’re going to do it once, we’re going to do it properly.”

She also revealed how Beckham had to confront many of his blocked memories during the interview process. “David blocked so many of the memories… They put it in a box and move on,” Howson explained, noting that Beckham’s former teammate, Gary Neville, helped him unlock these memories, sometimes challenging Beckham’s version of events.