Victoria Beckham’s astonishing Netflix documentary completely changed my opinion of her

Victoria Beckham has never shied away from the spotlight. But in his new Netflix documentary, his vulnerabilities are revealed.

As a long-time Spice Girls fan, Victoria wasn’t my favorite of the group – I never found her attractive.

That’s all changed since diving into the world of the Beckham brand in a new three-part series. I dare say Victoria has been crowned my favorite celebrity of all time – and there’s a thing or two the A-listers could learn from it.

This extraordinary documentary, from the Emmy award-winning director of her husband David’s series BECKHAM, gives viewers a front row seat as we watch Victoria evolve from a self-proclaimed ‘loner’ child to preparing for her Spring/Summer show at Paris Fashion Week – the biggest of her career so far.

From life as a WAG (a term she clearly hates), to guest interviews with the likes of Anna Wintour, Tom Ford, Donatella Versace, and Eva Longoria, as well as a brutally honest look into her family life with David, this documentary showcases a brutally honest and hilarious Victoria, a side of the 51-year-old I’ve been waiting decades to see.

In the first episode she struts into VB headquarters like a woman on a mission and is everyone’s favorite companion. Happily greeting staff and joining Zoom calls, she casually discusses her weekend doing hot yoga in a ‘vagina-shaped tent’ before getting straight to work on her fashion and beauty empire.

But not all of his luxury brand promotions were in vain. Victoria gets very personal in all three episodes, detailing everything from the misogyny she faced in her career, to massive financial woes in her business where she lost ‘millions of dollars’, and an eating disorder.

Reflecting on her time in the hugely successful girl band, Victoria credits Geri Halliwell, Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm and Emma Bunton for helping her ‘accept’ who she really was, admitting she ‘didn’t fit in’ and ‘desperately wanted to be liked’ when she was younger.

I have to admit, hearing Victoria talk about how turbulent her youth was in the group is a tough pill to swallow. Spice Girls fans remember the 90s with so much joy and nostalgia. I question how one of the women who created Girl Power could fight against such deep-rooted self-hatred.

But things started to look up in the second episode, entitled Kill the Wag, when Victoria discussed something that has unfortunately plagued her entire career – her weight. Disturbing headlines referring to her appearance were shown before a man on TV called for her to ‘starve to death’.

I watched it with my jaw glued to the floor. I know the comments about Victoria’s body were widespread and cruel, but I put myself in her shoes at that moment and wondered how she could handle it.

She responded by recalling the moment she was weighed in by Chris Evans on live TV during TFI Friday in 1999, just six months after giving birth to her first child, Brooklyn. ‘I was very, very young. And it hurts. I really started to doubt myself because I let it get to me.

‘I don’t know what I see when I look in the mirror… You lose all sense of reality. I’m just very critical of myself. I didn’t like what I saw.’

This is a side of Victoria we’ve never seen before. She fearlessly admits: ‘If you have an eating disorder you become very good at lying and I was never honest about that with my parents. I never talked about it openly. It really affects you when you’re told you’re not good enough. And I think I’ve experienced that all my life.’

Victoria doesn’t play around about her past and how far she’s come. There is a feeling of deep connection to her privilege.

She vividly recalls a comment from her bandmate Mel B that clearly struck a chord: ‘It pissed me off… It was Melanie B who said: “don’t forget where you come from”. I never forget where I come from. I’ll never forget that Posh Spice is the reason I’m sitting here now.’

The series also highlights David and Victoria’s 25-year marriage, a love that is clearly visible through the screen. Although Victoria often pokes fun at the former footballer (joking about his ‘amazing cock’ while discussing their livestock, and warning him not to wear his fake white jacket) their marriage is clearly stronger than ever. David is very protective of his wife and it shows.

A feud with his son, Brooklyn, means a sense of anticipation builds as you wait for the final scene’s surprising explanation of his apparent absence from the documentary. But aside from flashbacks to their early years living in America, the oldest of the Beckham children doesn’t appear at all, which I’m glad for.

Finally it was time for Victoria to enjoy her moment.

Victoria Beckham streams on Netflix on October 9.

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