Heskey reflected in the interview on some of the toughest moments of his career, when he was subjected to racist abuse right in the stadium.
“I remember a match where the whole stadium was making monkey noises. In those moments, you just want to respond with your performance, score a goal, and silence them.
"When I was starting out, players like John Barnes and Ian Wright faced blatant racism, with people even throwing bananas at them.
"We don’t see that anymore, but racism has shifted elsewhere, like onto social media. It’s less visible, but it’s still there,” he explained.
He also sees the education of young players as a major issue. While clubs do some work in this area, it’s not always enough.
“Young players suddenly find themselves in the spotlight, and no one really explains to them what that entails - including how to deal with hate or where to report it if it happens,” Heskey said.
The full TV version of this episode of the Big Pete documentary series will be available on CANAL+ Sport and the CANAL+ streaming service in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, Poland, Myanmar, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Romania, and Hungary, and on SuperSport in South Africa and Switzerland.