Phil Liggett The Voice of Cycling

Eleanor Sharpe, Nickolas Bird co directors of the film.

Following on from our recent very successful feature documentary, MAMIL: Middle Aged Men in Lycra (2017), we were searching for a new idea for a documentary. One of the key components of MAMIL’s success was having the legendary Phil Liggett provide the narration.
After travelling to London to record the narration, we were impressed by Phil’s presence and the stories he told us. Tentatively, we pitched the idea to Phil of making a feature documentary about his life. And Phil, despite refusing many similar offers over the years, agreed. We had the makings of a film.
Little did we then realize the scope of the adventure upon which we were to embark. We soon discovered that cycling was not Phil’s only love. Phil and his wife Trish are both keen conservationists who are passionate about protecting rhinos from the deadly poaching trade throughout Africa.

We travelled to South Africa documenting the Liggett’s extraordinary fight to protect this endangered species. We followed this up with filming Phil at the 2019 Tour de France and filming Phil and Trish at their home in England. Finally, we spent some time with Phil in Australia, as he commentated on Australian races and continued his conservation work in Australia.
As we were filming, we discovered a very personal story of two people’s lives and their incredible journey together. We feel honoured to have been able to tell the amazing story of Phil and Trish Liggett.
One of the strengths we brought to the film as co-directors, is that we represent the two very different parts of Phil Liggett’s audience. Nickolas Bird is a huge cycling fan who has listened to Phil calling races for decades and is a fan of Phil’s vast knowledge and the way he calls the races. Eleanor Sharpe started watching the Tour de France because she loved hearing Phil Liggett talk about the French chateaus and the scenery... and along the way she accidentally learnt something about cycling.