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Rio Ferdinand opens up about losing his wife and being a single dad in new documentary

Published 10:57 7 Feb 2017 GMT

Rich Cooper
Rio Ferdinand opens up about losing his wife and being a single dad in new documentary

Homesport

A new BBC documentary will see Rio Ferdinand open up about the death of his wife.

Rio Ferdinand: Being Mum and Dad will be "an intimate exploration of the ways in which men similarly bereaved cope with their loss" in which the ex-footballer will talk about the death of his wife Rebecca Ellison. "I don't think I've grieved properly," the former England captain will say in the hour-long documentary. "I've not given myself that time to sit down and really flush everything out." Ferdinand had three children with Ellison before she lost her fight against breast cancer in 2015 at the age of 34. The documentary, which will air on BBC One in the spring, will also look at how young fathers cope with losing their partner and raising their children alone. Alison Kirkham, controller of factual commissioning and events, said: "Rio Ferdinand has courageously allowed the cameras to follow him in this revealing and immensely personal documentary exploring the complexities of grief."

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Rio Ferdinand opens up about losing his wife and being a single dad in new documentary