Nickelodeon UK’s first major original live-action production brilliantly captured the late-90s British Cool Britannia aesthetic.
The series followed a hopeless five-a-side football team composed of teenage outcasts who refused to give up on their sporting dreams.
The kids – all students from Renford Comprehensive – failed to make the school’s official football team (the fiercely competitive Renford Rovers), so decided to form their own five-a-side team.
They had intended to call themselves the”Renford Rovers also, but Terry Stoker (Tom Weller) – the arrogant captain of their bitter local rivals, The Razors – sabotaged their registration form and the boys accidentally ended up registered as the Renford Rejects.
Embracing their underdog identity, they kept the name and spent the series trying to prove everyone wrong, despite rarely winning a match.
The team’s roster shifted over four series, but the core group of teenage personalities were Jason Summerbee (Martin Delaney), the team’s overconfident, chip-loving forward and captain (who always wore a Hull City shirt as a tribute to his father); Barry Grade (Paul Parris), a flamboyant player who fabricated an Italian persona (Bruno Di Gradi), wore a Juventus shirt and spoke with a fake Italian accent; and Ben Phillips (Charlie Rolland), the gangly, highly eccentric goalkeeper who loved poetry and refused to wear his glasses on the pitch.
The original team manager, Stewart Jackson (Matthew Leitch), was forced to coach from the sidelines after The Razors inflicted a severe injury.
Eddie McAvoy (Alex Norton) was the Elvis-obsessed owner of the Graceland Cafe, the Rejects’ unofficial headquarters and favourite hangout.
The team also had some talented female players – including Robin Walker (Holly Davidson), Sue White (Lucy Punch), and Mia Smith (Megan Bertie) – who often outperformed their male counterparts.
Real-life football legends like Gianfranco Zola, Ian Rush, Harry Redknapp, and Martin Keown made guest appearances on the show. The iconic indie-rock theme tune was Australia by the Manic Street Preachers.
Jason Summerbee
Martin Delaney Bruno Di Gradi (Barry Grade)
Paul Parris Ben Phillips
Charlie Rolland Eddie McAvoy
Alex Norton Stewart Jackson
Matthew Leitch Terry Stoker
Tom Weller Vinnie Rodrigues
Roger Davies Priscilla McAvoy
Sally Kinghorn Rajvindar ‘Ronnie’ Supra
Adam Dean Mia Smith
Megan Bertie Basil Stoker/Santoro
Bill Homewood Jim Rosenthal
Himself Bob Wilson
Himself Robin Walker
Holly Davidson Sue White
Lucy Punch Dennis Quayle
Mohammed George
Embracing their underdog identity, they kept the name and spent the series trying to prove everyone wrong, despite rarely winning a match.
The team’s roster shifted over four series, but the core group of teenage personalities were Jason Summerbee (Martin Delaney), the team’s overconfident, chip-loving forward and captain (who always wore a Hull City shirt as a tribute to his father); Barry Grade (Paul Parris), a flamboyant player who fabricated an Italian persona (Bruno Di Gradi), wore a Juventus shirt and spoke with a fake Italian accent; and Ben Phillips (Charlie Rolland), the gangly, highly eccentric goalkeeper who loved poetry and refused to wear his glasses on the pitch.
The original team manager, Stewart Jackson (Matthew Leitch), was forced to coach from the sidelines after The Razors inflicted a severe injury.
