‘It has changed my life’: five years on from Wrexham’s Hollywood takeover

Two Chewbaccas handed out flyers to passersby. No one making their way towards the Turf batted an eyelid; for five years now a touch of Hollywood has become part of Wrexham. Ninety minutes before kick-off the city’s most famous public house was heaving. Lying in the shadow of the Racecourse Ground, it is the watering hole of choice for locals and, thanks to landlord Wayne Jones’s prominent role in Welcome to Wrexham, a tourist attraction.

The thriving pub, packed with happy faces and contented nattering, symbolises the meteoric shift since Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac paid £2m to become the club’s guardians half a decade ago. On the night Reynolds and Mac’s purchase was announced, Wrexham earned three points against Altrincham at FC United of Manchester’s Broadhurst Park and moved into the National League’s playoff spots.

A mere 1,459 days later they are in the Championship’s top six despite a disappointing 2-0 defeat by Millwall.

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