Alan Hansen: Player And Pundit
(BBC1, 10.35pm)

HE ONCE famously said “You can’t win anything with kids” concerning the 1995 Manchester United squad, but that line was typical of the no-nonsense Scot Alan Hansen, who got so many things right in his career.

Now he says of the comment: “That line pretty much made me, simply because I got it so dramatically wrong.”

Then again, Hansen hadn’t counted on the likes of David Beckham and the Neville brothers going on to win the Premiership and FA Cup that season.

A central character in the BBC’s football coverage since 1992, Hansen is bowing out after this year’s World Cup finals in Brazil.

Gary Lineker presents a personal and revealing tribute as Hansen joins friends, family and colleagues to look back at an illustrious career as a player and a pundit.

This very private, self-effacing family man opens up about his playing career with Scotland and Liverpool and talks about the close relationships forged over the years with the likes of Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness and Mark Lawrenson.

As club captain of Liverpool during the 1989 Hillsborough tragedy, Hansen talks emotionally about the events of that day and how they’ve had a profound personal effect on him – and everyone else associated with Liverpool Football Club – over the subsequent 25 years.

He also discusses the Heysel Disaster four years earlier, and reveals his disappointment at missing out on the 1986 World Cup for Scotland. And we also learn why Hansen turned his back on football management.

Lineker also looks at the massive effect his friend and colleague Hansen has had on sports broadcasting.

The so-called King of Pundits, he revolutionised the role of the TV analyst.

Along with Andy Gray, he was responsible for transforming attitudes towards football punditry.

He was unafraid to criticise footballers or the establishment: passionate, forthright and above all, intelligent.

Hansen’s appeal was so widespread, that he even appeared in polls commissioned to find a new James Bond, became a housewife’s favourite, and brought female viewers to Match Of The Day in the process.

There are contributions from Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness, Des Lynam, Jamie and Harry Redknapp, Jose Mourinho, Brendan Rogers, Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Mark Lawrenson and Hansen’s wife, Janet, and children, Lucy and Adam.

On the Yorkshire Buses
(Channel 5, 8pm)

IF YOU live in Hull, you’ll know bus enthusiast Peter and his band of straight-talking men and women that make up East Yorkshire Motor Services – Britain’s biggest family run bus company. They’re known locally as one big family, even though the company comprises 800 staff, and they’ve been serving the people of Hull since 1926.

But it’s not always plain sailing, delivering 63,000 passenger trips every day and keeping 260 buses on the road, as this new series follows the company’s ups and downs.

The first instalment catches the workers during school holidays, and there’s a shortage of staff for the busy Saturday shift – step forward controller Simon to juggle things around to ensure the services keep running. Meanwhile, in Scarborough, the open-top tour buses are facing strong competition.

The Cruise Ship
(ITV, 8pm)

IN ITS maiden season, the Royal Princess has a lot to prove, and tonight the crew cope with preparations for the ship’s most stylish evening: Formal Night.

General manager Dirk battles an overflowing laundry problem, whilst new girl, spa worker Kelly, has to cope with leaving home for the first time and getting used to life on ship. John Thomson narrates the four-parter.