Hundreds of football fanatics and I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here fans queued up to meet footballing royalty and the king of the jungle Harry Redknapp.
The former premier league manager, 71, visited Swindon for his first event since leaving Australia and called in at the town’s historic Steam Museum.
Star Harry had the room filled with laughter right from the start, talking about turning down BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing because he couldn’t dance even after the show had sent a professional dancer to his home, before discussing his experience in the jungle.
The ex West Ham player who went on to manage Bournemouth, Tottenham, and Portsmouth, where he won the FA Cup, discussed growing up and his love for the Hammers where he played with England legends Bobby Moore and sir Geoff Hurst, as well as his managerial career, transfer deadline day and not getting the England manager's job.
One of the stories that had the room in stitches was when he let a fan who had been giving him grief about his team selection come on as a substitute. The opportunist scoring and helped them win the game.
Harry reminisced about the times he had come to the County Ground, saying that one of the most talented players he had seen was Town’s Don Rogers.
Harry received a standing ovation from the crowd, and couldn’t leave without saying some wise words of wisdom, “if you want to succeed you can do it if you work hard enough”.
I Am Promotions, based in Swindon, hosted the one-off event.
On the night the show helped raise thousands of pounds for Ronald McDonald House which gives families the chance to remain close to their child while they are in hospital.
Comedian Aaron James, who has performed on shows such as shows the World Cup finals, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross and Match of the Day, entertained throughout the evening, hosting the auction, which raised nearly £5,000 with fans buying rare signed pieces by football players from all eras.
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