Fans have demanded a knighthood for Marcus Rashford following his documentary, Feeding Britain’s Children. The Manchester United footballer has publicly battled against child food poverty this year, and campaigned for the government to extend free school meals during the pandemic, a move which was applauded by many.

His efforts were further explored in a new BBC special, which explored the 23-year-old’s return to his roots moments from his past, with his iconic mum, Melanie, as well his efforts to get children fed during lockdown. ‘There was times when there wasn’t any food there,’ he told the camera. You’d just go to sleep. 

‘It should never be normal for somebody to feel how I felt. ‘When you get to the position that I’m in now, I feel like if they’re in need and they don’t have anyone really fighting for them, they I should be the one that does it.’

Mum Melanie said: ‘Marcus has provided a home for me and I sit in my room sometimes and I just cry. ‘You just sit there, crying on your own, because you’re thinking about where you’ve come from to where you’re at now. ‘Sometimes we didn’t even have a loaf of bread in the house. It’s embarrassing to say, but we didn’t.  ‘But I wouldn’t tell somebody I was struggling either. It was embarrassing. That’s why I had three jobs. I just had to try and work and get money from working.’

The England ace’s work ensured around 1.3 million children were able to claim free school meal vouchers over the summer holidays, with another £400m package later announced.