Speaking at the Royal Television Society's annual conference was football icon David Beckham, who opened up about the making of his documentary series, Beckhams, featuring his wife Victoria, and how it has made him uncomfortable because many topics cropped up for the first time in public discourse. "That was one of the most difficult things I have ever done," Beckham said of his work on the project in the documentary series Beckhams.

Refreshingly frank in conversation with session host Jane Featherstone, Beckham spoke candidly of the challenges of creating such an "authentic" documentary about himself-albeit one in which he has been involved by virtue of his own production company, Studio 99. He confessed that finding that director was key to making this all work. Beckham wanted to have someone who came at his story from a different perspective than just that of rehashing what the public already thought they knew about him.

It didn't come easily for the football legend, 49. "It took me a long time to say yes to the idea," Beckham admitted. "When I retired, I wasn't ready to talk about my career or everything that had happened." But with the 10th year of his 2013 retirement from football looming, Beckham finally felt that it might be time to open up.

Despite his reservations, Beckham accepted to be interviewed by director Fisher Stevens. For some 50 hours of footage, Beckham was made to speak about intimately personal matters of his life, which included details on issues that had never at any point been made public. Speaking on the matter, Beckham claims it was very hard to go through: "I had to talk about things that I had never spoken about before, and that was hard."

The couple also said they actually did have some reservations about the documentary. "We were nervous because, as much as people think they know everything about us, they don't. We don't really open the doors to our private lives," Beckham said. "I'm not going to lie—I hated almost every moment of it." Laughter from the audience before he clarified: "I wouldn't say I hated it, but it was really difficult."

The thing that felt weird about returning was the heavy media pressure that Beck had to face in his football days-a far cry from the social media explosion today. He remembered that during most of his Manchester United days, his then-manager, Sir Alex Ferguson would caution him not to read headlines. "Sir Alex would say, 'Do yourself a favor, don't read the papers, just go out there and play.' And that's all I really did-I just played and tried to stay focused."

Interestingly, Beckham admits that he has had little or no control during the editing of the series. "I didn't go to the edit room; I didn't see any cuts. I saw the odd clip, but I let Fisher have full control." He praised the work of Stevens on the film, "Finding the right director took time, but Fisher made me feel uncomfortable from the start, which I needed. He approached my story from a different angle and brought out things that people didn't know."

Beckham said that the first time he saw the completed series at the premiere was quite an emotional thing. He admitted he was proud of what had been produced after the trials and tribulations at the beginning and "loved" how all the pieces had come together. Success was sealed when the documentary won outstanding documentary series at the Emmys in the United States.

As the conversation went ahead, Beckham also mentioned that Victoria's documentary was going to air, tracking her journey from being a Spice Girl to becoming respected in the fashion world. When asked if he would give her any advice given his own experience doing a documentary, Beckham burst out laughing and quipped, "Do you know my wife?

Oh, he is extremely excited about Victoria's documentary. "She's an amazing woman—driven, passionate, and determined. She has built her business from ground up, and she's finally getting the success she deserves. I want people to see what goes into her dedication to finish things off.".

No one really sees the amount of work she does," he said. "She's involved in everything, from where people sit at fashion shows to the smallest details. I want people to see that side of her." Beckham said he admires Victoria for her work ethic, working untiringly around her fashion brand.

While Beckham threw light on the life and career of David, Victoria's next series promises to give the same depth of insight into her own rise from pop phenomenon to fashion icon. For now, however, it's David basking in the afterglow of that groundbreaking documentary that left him uncomfortable but ultimately proud.