Harry Redknapp makes film debut in movie about the fan he pulled from the stands in 1994

Harry Redknapp is set to make his big-screen debut in Halftime Hero, a film based on the remarkable true story of the day he pulled a heckling West Ham supporter from the stands and put him on the pitch during a 1994 pre-season friendly.

The 79-year-old West Ham legend appears in a cameo role as a market stall seller flogging traditional jellied eels and cockles to fans. Redknapp was photographed on set outside Leyton Orient Football Club, which has been dressed by the production to stand in for the Hammers’ former Upton Park home.

The film centres on supporter Steve ‘Pringle’ Davies, who was watching from the terraces at Oxford when Redknapp — then West Ham’s assistant manager — spotted him shouting at striker Lee Chapman and decided to give him a run-out. Davies not only played but scored, as West Ham ran out 4-0 winners.

Actor Eddie Marsan takes the role of a younger Redknapp in the film, with MobLand star Anson Boon cast as Davies and Ellie Bamber playing his girlfriend Penny.

Davies, who grew up in Rushden near Northampton, became a West Ham fan after watching them beat Fulham in the 1975 FA Cup final and regularly made the 182-mile round trip to see the side. He has described Trevor Brooking as his childhood hero.

Recalling the day of the Oxford friendly, Davies told The Guardian how the trip came about on a whim: “Chunk called me up one day and said, ‘We got a pre-season game over at Oxford — fancy it?’ We liked to get a couple of games in early. We get withdrawal symptoms when the season finishes in May.”

He described Redknapp emerging from the dressing room before kick-off and chatting easily with the travelling supporters. “Harry being Harry, he talks to people. There’s no airs and graces with Harry,” Davies said.

The trouble started once the match got under way. Chapman lost possession and went to ground, and Davies — sitting by a fence with friends and his partner — made his feelings known loudly enough to catch Redknapp’s attention, setting in motion one of the more unlikely cameos in English football history.