Family of Aussie cricket legend furious over Channel 9 bioseries

The daughter of cricketing legend Shane Warne slammed Australia’s Channel 9 network for commissioning a television series of her father.

Warne’s eldest daughter, Brooke Warne, believes Channel 9 is being “disrespectful” to the memory of her dad.

The 25 year old took to the social media platform Instagram yesterday to vent her feelings about the miniseries, called “Warnie” planned for the new year.

“Do any of you have any respect for Dad? Or his family? Who did so much for Channel 9 and now you want to dramatise his life and our families (sic) life 6 months after he has passed away? You are beyond disrespectful.”

The TV network yesterday confirmed the two-part series would be screened over two nights in the new year. They responded to criticism from the cricketing legend’s daughter by saying it will be “a fitting tribute to one of the greatest Australians of all time and its the must-see drama event of next year.”

A Channel 9 spokesperson said…

“Our Warnie mini-series we know will be a celebration of the life of an extraordinary Australian – a man who lived life large and loved passionately. We have enormous respect for Shane and all his achievements, and our hope is all Australians including Warnie’s family will feel the program honours his legacy and life.”

Andy Ryan, Channel 9’s head of drama, revealed it would not be a “cradle to the grave biopic.”

He said…

“His life was so intriguing, and a work in progress. It became more intriguing and interesting with every passing year and it’s a tragedy that Shane died so young. But the outpouring of grief adds an extra dimension. He’s definitely flawed, but a genius, a rogue and a rascal.

“Our relationship with him at the time, and now, has ebbed and flowed … we’ve seen the best and worst of ourselves in him. At the core, he was a genius cricketer but we don’t want to tell just a story about a genius cricketer. He was also a cultural icon but we don’t just want to tell a story about a cultural icon.”

Warne died on the Thai resort island of Koh Samui on March 4 this year at the age of 52.

SOURCE: Guardian