In recent months there has been a lot of enjoyable press coverage about Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney taking over at Wrexham FC. 

What has been less reported, however, is the part played by a comedian who won the Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Newcomer in 2011 

Humphrey Ker made his name as part of the acclaimed sketch group The Penny Dreadfuls alongside Thom Tuck and David Reed (pictured, Ker is in the middle). You can listen to one of their BBC Radio shows via the link below. The Eton-educated comedian then went on to make his solo debut at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2011 with Humphrey Ker is...Dymock Watson: Nazi Smasher! - it was this show that won him the award.

Since then, however, Ker has spent a lot of time working in America as an actor and writer, appearing on TV shows including It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. It was on the show that he met Rob McElhenney, who played Mac. He then worked with McElhenney on Mythic Quest, which Ker wrote for and appeared in.

And when he and Deadpool star Reynolds decided to buy a football club McElhenney looked to Ker for some background and expertise about the game. He knew he was a football fan as he used to watch Liverpool matches during breaks in filming. 

Ker was involved in the negotiations to buy the club for £2 million and when the deal was done he became Executive Director of Wrexham FC. He is not the first comedian to be involved in a football club. Eric Morecambe was a director of Luton Town FC and Tommy Trinder was a chairman of Fulham. But he might be the first Edinburgh Comedy Award winner to take up such an important role. 

“One of my main jobs is explaining football culture to Rob and Ryan,” he told Four Four Two magazine. “They are both very astute. But I told them that at some point, you’ll be at an airport or train station and someone will call you a c**t...That’s just football.”

Read the full story about the takeover in Four Four Two Magazine here.

Listen to Humphrey Ker in the Penny Dreadfuls Present: Guy Fawkes here.