Podcast series Coming in From the Cold nominated for two awards
The podcast and radio series Coming in From the Cold featuring iconic and current black football players, has been nominated for two ARIAS by The Radio Academy.
The six-part series and one live show examines the historical and present-day game charting the contribution of black players over 156yrs in English football. It has been nominated for Best Factual Series and The Best Sport Show categories, to take the awards at the virtual ceremony on the 26 May at London’s Mayfair Hotel.
Coming in From the Cold was produced by U.K based production company Unedited and airs on talkSPORT. The series examines the rise and challenges targeting black players spanning three centuries, beginning in the 19th century with Arthur Wharton – the first black player, and from Ian Wright who talks about being a ‘road man’ and not being able to keep his attitude off the pitch up to the present-day players such as Raheem Sterling.
Against a banging soundtrack the audio documentary shares insights from current and former players and managers and chart the history of well-known ‘icons’ such as Cyrille Regis, Justin Fashanu and John Barnes. It features interviews with Les Ferdinand, Viv Anderson, Andy Cole, Lianne Sanderson, Chris Hughton and managers such as Harry Redknapp, Gareth Southgate, plus many more.
Founded in 2017, Unedited is spearheaded by two industry powerhouses who between them boast seven Sony Awards. Founder and co-owner Bernard P Achampong has over 18 years in the industry and has worked for BBC Radio prior to setting up the company. Co-owner Andrew Spence, a former DJ from Birmingham, has over 13 years’ experience of presenting and producing, having worked for the Galaxy Network, Capital FM and talkRadio before hanging up his headphones to concentrate on Unedited.
As the call grows for more diversity in broadcast production and media, organically grown audio and production company Unedited, has made it their mission to tell all types of stories – ‘beautifully told with passion and expression’.
Founder and Co-owner Bernard P Achampong explained: “Coming in From the Cold is a series of British Sporting History, a celebration of British black pioneers and trailblazers in football, who despite institutional racism, excelled as major talents in a hostile environment.
“As a company, Unedited is not afraid to tackle those areas that others might feel are uncomfortable. This is a story we felt needed to be told in such depth about our national game.”
Co-owner Andrew Spence added: “We really wanted to show everyone the amazing contribution black footballers have made to English football, it’s a shame that we are no further along in tackling the issues.”
The audio and video company aim to produce all types of content and are constantly challenging themselves with outside the realm of black music and sports projects. Programmes such as Peter 2.0: The Making of a Human Cyborg – The accompanying podcast series to the Channel 4 documentary, coupled with Skin Deep a new commission that will air on CBBC, where boys talk about their identity.
This summer Unedited will also produce Lost Ones, a three-part documentary series broadcast on talkSPORT narrated by Troy Townsend, examining the industrialised football Academy system, with a look at the mental and emotional impacts on the young men and women who are rejected by the Academy system.
Listed as one of Spotify’s top 12 podcast of 2020, in the event of a win in both categories of the ARIAS, Coming in From the Cold will add to the list for Unedited, with previous awards including Bronze in the Best Radio/Audio Documentary category for the SJA British Sports Journalism Awards 2020.
Coming in From the Cold is available on talkSPORT and all podcast and social media streaming platforms.