VERIFIED DEAL: The BBC said this morning that Coventry City officially announced the signing of a “outstanding” ace who would provide strong competition for Luis Binks after Ipswich defeated Southampton in the race.

Midfielder Ben Sheaf filmed Phoenix Rise at the Coventry Building Society Arena in Longford

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

Sheaf, who joined the Sky Blues in 2021, will be appearing on 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 is coming to watch him play later that day, the BBC said. Teacher Mr Edwards, played by Marc Hughes, is encouraging and pushes the youngster to pursue his dream of playing for the Sky Blues.

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

“As a massive football fan, it was nice to pretend to be good at football! I got 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 just a really nice day. I was really happy.”

Laughing, Jayden added: “I appreciate working in Coventry and I have had the time of my life here, but I will not be coming to support Coventry City FC. I will stay supporting the biggest club in the Midlands which is Birmingham City.”

Midfielder Ben Sheaf described being part of the hit BBC show as a ‘good experience.’ He even signed a Coventry City top when they filmed at the CBS Arena.