The Coventry City FC star is set to appear on the hit BBC show

A hugely popular Coventry City FC star swapped his training boots for scripts as he made his TV debut in award-winning series Phoenix Rise. Midfielder Ben Sheaf will appear in the latest series of the hit show, which has just landed on BBC iPlayer.

Sheaf, who joined the Sky Blues in 2021, will appear in the sixth episode of the new series alongside Jayden Hanley, who plays Darcy. He will get the chance to train with Sheaf at the Coventry Building Society Arena in Longford.

Darcy will be feeling inspired and ready to impress the scout who comes to watch him play later that day, the BBC said. Professor Mr Edwards, played by Marc Hughes, is encouraging and pushes the youngster to follow his dream of playing for the Sky Blues.

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Jayden, from Solihull, told CoventryLive: “It was a bad day, I got to play at the CBS Arena and score a few goals. It was a really beautiful day.”

“As a big soccer fan, it was nice to pretend you were good at soccer! I had to take a penalty kick and it was all a bit surreal, just looking around at an empty stadium on the pitch and the sound of the ball hitting the net, as a football fan it was a very beautiful day. I was really happy.”

Laughing, Jayden added: “I enjoy working at Coventry and I’ve had the time of my life here, but I won’t be coming to support Coventry City FC. I will continue to support the biggest club in the Midlands, which is Birmingham City.”

Midfielder Ben Sheaf has described being part of the hit BBC series as a “good experience”. He even signed a Coventry City top when they filmed at the CBS Arena.

Sheaf told BBC CWR: “Probably the last time I acted was in primary school, I think I was Joseph in a play, to be honest I think that was the last time! It was a little if I was going to be comfortable doing it, they said I did a good job.

“I’m not too sure if they lied to me to make me feel good. It was a good experience, I didn’t realize how much goes on behind the scenes, the actors and staff made me feel at home and were really helpful. It was a new experience and I’m glad I did it in the end.”

Asked what it was like filming alongside Sheaf, Jayden said: “It came naturally to him, I suppose the role he was playing was quite similar to himself. He’s a really good guy, a really nice guy and it was really nice to meet him.”

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