Ella Toone’s journey through grief has become a central narrative of her 2024-25 season, as the Manchester United and England midfielder navigates the loss of her father Nick while maintaining her professional career. A new BBC documentary, 24 Hours with Ella Toone, peels back the layers of that emotional balancing act, revealing how the 26-year-old has used football both as a shield and a salve since her dad’s death in September 2024. Nick Toone was more than a parent; he was her fiercest advocate, the man who drove her to matches across the country and saw potential in her before anyone else. Unbeknownst to Ella, he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer around the time she scored in England’s Euro 2022 final triumph over Germany—a secret he kept to avoid worrying his daughter during the tournament.
The revelation of his illness came only on 12 May 2024, the day after United’s FA Cup final win at Wembley, a cruel twist that made victory feel like a harbinger of pain. “I feel like every time I won something, something bad came after,” Toone reflects, underscoring the emotional whiplash of elite sport colliding with personal tragedy. When Nick died three days before his 60th birthday—just five days after Ella turned 25—she channeled her grief into action, returning to training the very next day and starting at Old Trafford soon after. “I knew that’s what he would have wanted,” she explains, “I couldn’t just be sat around moping about.” Yet her fierce determination to play through the pain masked an inability to truly process the loss, a coping mechanism common among athletes who treat the pitch as a sanctuary from real life.
That protective bubble burst in November 2024 when a calf injury forced her off the field. Toone now sees that setback as her body’s warning signal before a mental breaking point. The enforced two-month hiatus became an unexpected gift: she saw a counselor, took a holiday in Dubai, and finally allowed herself to grieve away from the relentless cycle of training and matchdays. “I think it was my body telling me to stop before I would have had a mental breakdown,” she recalls, highlighting the often-overlooked intersection of physical and psychological health in professional sport. The break also benefited her family, who had struggled to watch her play because matchdays had always been their shared moment with Nick.
Toone’s return in January 2025 was cinematic. Coming off the bench in an FA Cup tie against West Brom, she unleashed a spectacular long-range strike that sailed into the net—a goal later voted her team’s best of the season. Her immediate reaction said everything: a point to the sky, a tribute to the man she dedicates every goal to now. “It just felt like a relief,” she says, describing how the first months back had been marred by self-imposed pressure. “I wanted to score for him. I wasn’t letting myself relax and enjoy the game.” That moment of release marked a turning point, not just in her season but in her grieving process, allowing her to step back onto the pitch with a renewed sense of purpose rather than burden.
Integral to her recovery has been her fiancé, former Rochdale player Joe Bunney, whom Toone credits as a rock for both herself and her family during their darkest weeks. Bunney, now 32, experienced his own grief for a man he considered his closest friend, and he channeled that loss into action by taking on Nick’s dream of creating a girls’ football academy. The ET7 Academy, named after Ella’s initials and shirt number, has become a living legacy, providing free football sessions for young girls in the community. Toone explains that Nick had been passionate about the project from its inception, loving the chance to watch a new generation of players develop, almost as if he were “reliving Ella’s life again.”
The academy’s existence is a testament to how grief can be transformed into something generative. Toone says the project bought her and Bunney closer together, even if it brings its own stresses, and she expresses pride in his sacrifices. “Setting up the academy is part of dad’s legacy. He loved being part of something that he knew would help young girls have opportunities,” she notes, echoing her father’s ethos of championing women’s football at every level. Indeed, Nick Toone was a vocal advocate for the women’s game, preferring it to the men’s version and passionately debating its merits in any pub he entered. His influence now ripples outward through every child who steps onto the academy’s pitches.
Looking ahead, Toone is preparing for her July wedding, an event charged with mixed emotions. She initially told Bunney she would never marry or have children after her dad’s passing, but later realized that was the opposite of what he would have wanted. The ceremony will include an empty chair for Nick, a poignant symbol of absence, while her uncle Dan will walk her down the aisle. England teammate Alessia Russo will serve as maid of honour, and despite the many footballers in attendance, Toone has banned any football-related songs to keep the day as separate from the pitch as possible. Even a potential conflict with the men’s World Cup won’t tempt her to switch on a screen: “I am obsessed with football but I don’t think I’ll be watching it on my wedding day,” she asserts.
Toone’s story resonates beyond personal tragedy, touching on broader conversations about athlete mental health and the unique pressures faced by women in sport. By sharing her experience so openly, she joins a growing movement of players—across genders and leagues—who are dismantling the stigma around vulnerability. The documentary itself, released on BBC Three and iPlayer, offers an unfiltered look at a player who has already achieved so much—three major titles with United, a European Championship winner’s medal, and a World Cup final appearance—yet continues to find new layers of strength. Her ability to navigate grief while performing at an elite level serves as a powerful example of resilience, proving that even the most devastating losses can fuel a deeper commitment to one’s craft and community.
As the season progresses, Toone’s form will be closely watched, but her most significant victory may lie off the pitch. She has constructed a support system that includes therapy, family, and a tangible project in her father’s honor, ensuring that his memory is not merely preserved but actively cultivated. The empty chair at her wedding will be a reminder of what is gone, but the academy, the goals, and the courage to speak out ensure that Nick Toone’s presence remains a constant, driving force. Based on reporting from BBC Sport.