(Photograph) - THE BBC may have lost some of the great blue-riband sporting events to its rivals but it has still managed to pull off an important new signing for children’s television, writes Janette Wolf. The Liverpool and England striker Michael Owen is to make his acting debut in a drama series called Hero to Zero, which starts on February 23.
The plot follows the trials, both footballing and otherwise, of an unhappy 10-year-old boy, whose parent are scratching each other’s eyes out and whose only comfort in life comes from confiding in a poster of Michael Owen, stuck on his bedroom wall. Cue the real Michael Owen, who obligingly materialises in a digitally-enhanced shower of gold to dispense kindly advice and encouragement, not to mention some prescient football tips. As an actor, Michael is “as good on screen as he is on a football field”, says producer Cas Lester. Photograph: CREDIT
