Prince William combines his love of football and his mental health campaign in new documentary

23 May 2019, 13:55 | Updated: 23 May 2019, 13:58

BBC documentary Royal Team Talk has prompted an important conversation about mental health and male suicide

Prince William is fronting a new documentary focusing on mental health and male suicide.

Royal Team Talk sees the future King chat to sports personalities such as Thierry Henry, Gareth Southgate and Peter Crouch.

They were asked to open up about difficult moments in their career, in the hope that they would open up a wider conversation about mental health.

Prince William said: "Guys, in general, find it very difficult to talk about their feelings – doing what we’re doing here makes a huge difference."

The men also spoke about feeling 'forbidden to cry', with England manager Gareth Southgate adding that there's a: “culture of not opening up about anything in your life without being seen as weak”.

He added: “But that’s the key,” the England manager continued, “it isn’t a weakness, it’s actually a strength.”

Many people took to Twitter to praise the group for starting the all-important conversation. Jonny Sharples, a mental health campaigner whose brother Simon took his own life in 2014, wrote: "When Simon died by suicide four years ago, I’d never have imagined we’d see the England manager on TV openly discussing his mental health.

"I wish Simon could’ve seen a programme like #ARoyalTeamTalk, but there’s comfort in knowing countless others will feel the benefit of seeing it."

How can I watch Royal Team Talk online?

The documentary is available on the BBC iPlayer here.