Southgate doc among YouTube originals

ChrisMD (left) and England manager Gareth Southgate

Google-owned video platform YouTube is launching five projects as part of its forthcoming slate of originals in the UK, including one with England national football team manager Gareth Southgate.

Raise Your Game with Gareth Southgate, from London-indie Zig Zag Productions, is a feature doc in which YouTube creators ChrisMD, SV2, Yung Filly and StuntPegg explore the England boss’s life lessons, career journey and ambitions.

Each YouTube creator’s story will break off from Southgate’s interview to tell a tale of an inspirational young person in the UK, linking back to the manager’s three core motivational beliefs: be kind, be brave and follow your dreams.

Greg Hardes and Jacob Proud are directing the doc, which will debut on YouTube in June. Zig Zag CEO Danny Fenton and MD Matt Graff are exec producing.

Elsewhere, The Outsiders? is a four-part docuseries that examines life in today’s society as a person of colour through interviews with young black people who are fighting back against the status quo and overcoming adversity.

Produced by Atelier Frederick/AFL Films and directed and exec produced by Simon Frederick, The Outsiders? features a line-up of YouTube creators, actors, artists, musicians, creatives and authors from the UK and around the world, including British comedian Mo Gilligan and radio/TV presenter Claro Amfo. It will premiere later this year.

The third project, Seat at the Table, is a series premiering later this year in which YouTube creator and climate-change activist Jack Harris speaks with local creators, communities and campaigners across multiple continents to discover the untold human and environmental stories behind the climate crisis.

Armed with on-camera testimonies, Harris will put together a film to show to world leaders at climate-change conference COP26 in November, challenging them to take action.

The series, produced by Studio Silverback and exec produced by Colin Butfield and Jonnie Hughes, kicks off with natural history stalwart Sir David Attenborough.

From Hillary and Chelsea Clinton’s HiddenLight Productions is If I Could Tell You Just One Thing, a four-part series in which YouTube star Patricia Bright speaks to some of the world’s most inspirational women about the stories and experiences that have shaped their lives.

The series is based on the book of the same name by Richard Reed and is exec produced by Johnny Webb and Nick Betts. It will premiere later this year.

The final series on YouTube’s upcoming UK slate is Workout Badges, a children’s show in which fitness coach Joe Wicks and CBeebies preschool series Hey Duggee team up to encourage preschoolers to try out new exercise routines.

Debuting in September, Workout Badges features a blend of animation and live action to teach kids about the importance of physical exercise. Each instructional video is guided by Wicks and features a range of Hey Duggee characters copying the exercise moves.

BBC Studios is the production company, with Paolo Proto exec producing.