Renford Rejects is a teen sitcom produced and broadcast by Nickelodeon UK between 1998 and 2001. The show briefly aired in the United States on Nick GaS. Reruns used to be broadcast on Nickelodeon UK at 1:50am and 2:15am until 2020. The show concerned a five-a-side school football team, made up of aspiring players who had been turned down by their school's main team. Although they originally called themselves the "Renford Rovers", they ended up being named "Renford Rejects" when a rival player sabotaged their league entry form. They decided to stick with the name as it suited their "outcast" nature. The show used to be played at night from 1:50am to 2:40am on U.K. Nickelodeon.

Filming

Series 1 was filmed in Autumn 1997, Series 2 in Autumn 1998, Series 3 in Autumn 1999, and Series 4 in Autumn 2000. The show was filmed at Willesden Sports Centre, London, NW10 3QX. Eddie McAvoy's Gracelands Cafe was filmed at 118 College Road, Willesden, London NW10 5HD. The 'Cafe' closed in April 2019.

Cast

The regular cast, as is often the case with teen sitcoms, went through a number of changes as its four series went by.

Main characters

Supporting/Recurring Characters

Also appearing was James Corden, who appeared in Don Bruno as Razor #1, where he, along with Terry Stoker, threatened to make Bruno eat his shirt; and Natasha Dilleyston (she appeared in "Heartbreak Hotel and "Ben In Tights"). She played Ben's "love interest" Justine. The episode "Ciao Bambino" featured EastEnders actress Leila Birch, playing Bruno's love interest Gina. Birch and Parris went on to become engaged in real life after meeting on the show. The club trainer Leo was played by Mark Smith, who had recently left the ITV show Gladiators. The show also featured several comedians in guest roles, including Tony Slattery ("Boyband"), David Baddiel ("Reject TV") and Alexei Sayle ("Action").

Guest stars

A number of famous guest stars from the world of football appeared as themselves throughout the course of the series. These included Ian Rush, Gianfranco Zola, Martin Keown, Shaka Hislop, Roberto Di Matteo, Jon Harley, John Terry, Kasey Keller, Harry Redknapp with the West Ham first team, Jim Rosenthal, Bob Wilson, Stan Bowles, and various members of England's 1966 World Cup-winning team.

Music

As with many similarly themed series, Renford Rejects used a popular contemporary indie song as its theme tune - in this case, "Australia" by the Manic Street Preachers. Renford Rejects also used an edited version of Rob Dougan's Clubbed To Death (Kurayamino Mix) from his breakthrough album Furious Angels when the Rejects rivals, The Razors, would appear on screen. "Ready to Go" by Republica and "Tubthumping" by Chumbawamba were songs often heard during a match. "A Girl Like You" by Edwyn Collins, was the song for Robin in the first season, also "Who Do You Think You Are" by Spice Girls was Sue's song on her debut in season two.