Welcome to the Championship: Wrexham’s main characters as they enter second tier

Wrexham are about to bring Hollywood glamour to the Championship as they await the announcement of their 2025-26 season fixtures on Thursday.

Actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bought the Welsh club in February 2021 and Wrexham have since become the first team in the top five tiers of the English game to win three successive promotions.

Having built a global fan base through the award-winning ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ documentary series, the PA news agency looks at the main characters involved.

The owners – Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney

Jaws dropped when Hollywood A-lister Reynolds, star of the Deadpool franchise, and It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia co-creator McElhenney revealed their intention to buy Wrexham in September 2020.

Wrexham had just avoided relegation from the National League but since the £2million deal to purchase the club from the Wrexham Supporters Trust was completed Reynolds and McElhenney have transformed the team, with heavy investment fuelling the club’s rise through the football pyramid.

A new 5,500-capacity Kop stand is planned at the club’s historic Racecourse, increasing capacity to 16,500, while the TV docuseries has introduced legions of new fans worldwide to Wrexham and Wales – leading to extra tourism and a boost for the local economy. Hollywood stars Channing Tatum, Eva Longoria, Hugh Jackman, Paul Rudd and Will Ferrell have all been spotted at games.

Reynolds and McElhenney were awarded the Freedom of Wrexham in 2023 and have been honoured by the Welsh Government, the Football Association of Wales and S4C for promoting the country and its language.

The executive – Humphrey Ker

London-born actor, comedian and writer Ker was the facilitator in Reynolds and McElhenney taking over Wrexham.

Ker worked with McElhenney on the comedy series Mythic Quest and sparked his interest in buying a football club, recommending him to watch the sports documentaries ‘Sunderland ’Til I Die’ and ‘All Or Nothing’ during the Covid-19 lockdowns.

The 42-year-old became executive director at the club following the takeover and took on the role of community director in January after the New York-based Allyn Family became minority investors, with Kaleen Allyn appointed executive director.

The manager – Phil Parkinson

Parkinson, 57, began his managerial career at Colchester in 2003 and has also been in charge of Hull, Charlton, Bradford, Bolton and Sunderland.

Appointed at Wrexham in July 2021, his first season ended with National League play-off semi-final defeat to Grimsby.

But the last three years have taken Parkinson’s total of promotions to six and in January he joined the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, Jurgen Klopp and Jose Mourinho with 1,000 games in management.

The captain – James McClean

Former Republic of Ireland international McClean is enjoying a successful swansong at Wrexham.

The 103-cap former Sunderland, Wigan, West Brom and Stoke winger is now 36 but has been an influential figure in the last two promotions with vital goals and assists.

McClean has been a controversial figure during his time in England but he is adored by Wrexham fans and set to play an important role again next season

The new boy – Ryan Hardie

Ryan Hardie has checked in as Wrexham’s first summer signing for the Championship battle ahead.

The 28-year-old Scottish striker started his career with Rangers and built his reputation at Plymouth, where he scored 74 goals in five seasons.

Hardie joins a striking department featuring Jay Rodriguez, Ollie Palmer and Sam Smith, with Paul Mullin having made a loan move to Wigan after scoring 110 goals in 172 games for the Red Dragons.