Tony Bellew Is Angry

Former boxing champion and proud Evertonian Tony Bellew delves into the brutal world of football hooliganism. At its height in the 1970s and 1980s, it was labelled ‘the English Disease,’ a time when violence on the terraces was as much a part of the game as a half-time Bovril. Bellew hears from those who lived for the trouble, the men and women whose Saturdays weren’t complete without a brutal pun...

Steve Bunce and Lennox Lewis on one of the most recognisable and enduring figures in sport, Boxing promoter Don King, with contributions from rivals, law enforcers and fighters

This episode contains content that some listeners may find upsetting. Ant Middleton served in the most elite units of the British military before transferring his skills and experiences to TV. From 2015-2021 Ant was Chief Instructor on Channel 4’s ‘SAS: Who Dares Wins’. On the celebrity version of the programme one of his ‘recruits' was a certain former World Champion boxer called Tony Bellew. Ant...

Joey Barton built himself a hugely successful career as a footballer, but the flip side was his reputation as being fiery on the field and often in trouble off it. He played 269 times in the Premier League for Manchester City, Newcastle, QPR and Burnley and also made one appearance for England. Controversy has always followed Joey around and he speaks candidly in this interview about moments where...

Millie Bright is a mainstay of the European Championship-winning England Women’s Football team - the Lionesses. Picked for every game during last year’s successful Euros campaign, she’s won multiple honours for her club side Chelsea and is one of the best footballers in the world. She opens up to Tony about the challenges in her early career when women’s football didn’t have the platform, exposure...

After his recent Oscars win, listen back to Michael B. Jordan's interview with Tony Bellew from 2023’. A critically-acclaimed and world-famous A-list movie star, Michael has acted and boxed alongside Tony as they have collaborated on the Creed films. Michael and Tony are friends and they talk openly and honestly here, in a way that you don’t often hear from the biggest stars. Michael gives new ins...

Tom Davis is a writer, comedian and actor who has made a name for himself with hit TV shows Murder in Successville and King Gary. With movie acting credits in Paddington 2 and the upcoming Wonka, Tom’s profile is on the rise… but he started in the media industry later than most. Tony explores with Tom how his background has shaped his attitude and approach. Tom is open about the fact that he has a...

Vicky Pattison started her TV career in her early twenties when she was the standout star in reality show Geordie Shore. That kick-started a career and celebrity life lived almost entirely in the media spotlight. Vicky explains to Tony how the pressures of having her life on camera led her to long periods of deeply held anger and how it is only years later that she has been able to process her exp...

This episode contains a description of animal cruelty that some listeners might find disturbing. Duncan Ferguson is a Premier League footballing legend. Known for his competitive spirit, 100% effort and total commitment on the pitch, as a player, he was as tough as they come. A personal hero of Tony’s, in this honest and reflective conversation Duncan the person emerges from the outline of Ferguso...

Joe Marler is of the biggest characters in modern Rugby, as well as a highly effective and successful player. For England and the Lions, as well as with his club side Harlequins, Joe is known for his competitiveness and will to win. He explains to Tony how his ability to get under his opponent’s skin can provide him with an edge, but also cause him problems. Behind the crazy hair styles and prop f...

This episode discusses issues that some people might find distressing. If you are suffering distress or despair, details of help and support are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline. Paddy Pimblett is one of the most popular and successful fighters in the world of mixed martial arts. He has made a huge impact in both Cage Warriors and UFC. Blessed with vast natural ability, Paddy explains to Tony how...

Bugzy Malone’s ‘King of the North’ album cemented his place as a leading light in the UK grime scene and propelled him towards international stardom in music and film. Tony and Bugzy have a lot in common, including the types of challenges they faced growing up. Bugzy shares key episodes of anger from his life and discusses how he has grown, adapted and improved. We hear how sudden material success...

Steven Bartlett’s Diary of a CEO podcast tops the charts most weeks. But he rarely goes on other people’s podcasts. Making an exception for Tony he steps into the ring to chat all things anger. We hear about life growing up as the only black kid in a white area of Plymouth, racism and why anger has a special place in business. How his career started aged 10 selling cigarettes nicked from his mum....

Boxer Derek Chisora has fought most of the greats including Tyson Fury but he's never fought Tony! Instead of getting into the ring for a fight he steps up for a frank chat about anger. And as someone known as much for his pre-match antics as his boxing, as well as controversies away from the boxing ring, there is much to talk about. They talk giving up alcohol, regret, growing up in Zimbabwe, los...

One of the world’s top boxing promoters Eddie Hearn tells Tony what winds him up and how he keeps things under control. Eddie admits early on that he’s quick to calm down when he gets angry before revealing it’s actually Tony who is one of the angriest people he’s ever met! He talks rudeness, mobile phones and why anger is bad in the boxing ring and bad in business. He admits he hates being told h...

He never got booked during his entire career so does anything wind up Gary Lineker? Tony manages to dig up a few things! From having four sons who fought all the time to nearly losing it when a Russian referee refused to penalise anyone for booting him all through a match in Turkey, Gary reveals there’s been a few things to make him grumpy over the years. He admits politics can annoy him and he’s...

The first British female boxer to qualify for the Olympic games who just captured the WBO Light Middleweight Championship of the World, Tony chats to Natasha Jonas ‘the Queen of Liverpool boxing’, about the things that make her angry. Tony and Tasha have known each other since they were kids growing up in the South of Liverpool so there's a lot to chat about! But of course Tony has to start by ask...

Scouser and comedy legend John Bishop steps into the ring with Tony for one hell of a chat. We learn that John once asked to have his picture taken with Tony after a boxing match and Tony refused. Listen to find out why! John reveals why his dad and his uncle can never watch a Merseyside derby together for the rest of their lives. He tells us what he discovered having his hair cut by his wife’s ha...

Musician, radio DJ and former X-Factor star Fleur East reveals some jaw-dropping angry moments to Tony. From the shocking revelation she was told to straighten her hair to make it in the music industry to being treated badly by customers at the bar where she worked. She talks about getting up at 4am for work, stubbing toes on beds and road rage. Tony and Fleur compare notes on instant fame, going...

David Harewood, the British actor and star of Hollywood TV show Homeland, opens up to Tony in this brutally open and honest chat. He talks about growing up as a Black kid in Birmingham in the 1960s and the incident of racism aged seven that tore his identity apart. He describes the mental breakdown in his twenties that he revisited for his BBC documentary ‘Psychosis and Me’ and how close he had be...

Michael Bisping, Britain’s most decorated MMA fighter of all time, sits down for a chat about anger (and other things) with Tony. We hear how he quit his job in a factory to get into MMA before anyone even knew what it was in the UK. They chat comebacks and how on earth he fights with the use of only one eye. They discuss whether trash talk works (but don’t call it that!), getting into scraps as a...

Let’s be honest, Christmas can wind up the best of us. In this festive special Tony gets together with comedy legend Romesh Ranganathan to find out what tips him over the edge during the ‘season of joy’. An argument with his wife about decorations ends with Rom stomping off early to bed, the depravity of a secondary school staff Christmas party is revealed and Romesh’s dad’s attempt to do a halal...

Tony turns the tables on YouTuber and podcasting megastar True Geordie as they sit down to chat about life, anger and everything in between. True Geordie (real name Brian Davis) quickly admits he was an angry young man growing up in Newcastle where everyone’s dads were either in jail or had been to jail. We hear how working as an off-shore deep-sea diver turned him into a man (and what the sea flo...

Best mates since the age of 11, Tony and footballer Neil Danns shoot the breeze about being competitive with each other, the downfall of Bury FC and headlocks. Growing up near each other in the south of Liverpool and from similar backgrounds, Tony and Neil went to school together before Tony got expelled and Neil went off to football school. An inspiration to each other they were also wildly compe...

Worlds apart but quickly finding common ground Tony Bellew and Jamie Laing might just be the best double-act you’ve never heard. Blowing Tony away from the start by revealing he’s yet ANOTHER huge Bellew fan, Jamie frequently turns the tables and becomes the interviewer. He delves deep into the boxer's psyche, as well as stumping Tony with a question he's never been asked before. What seems an unl...