A SQUAD of former Darlington FC players proved they still have silky skills after trouncing a celebrity team in a charity match.
The game, played at Northallerton’s Calvert Stadium, was organised to publicise a film being made about Darlington man Paul Hodgson’s childhood struggles with meningitis and his subsequent disability.
Mr Hodgson is an ardent Darlington fan and his relationship with the club will feature in the film titled ‘Give Them Wings’.
The game on Saturday saw a team of former Darlington players led by Paul Ward beat a team of celebrities 14 - 2.
The celebrity team was led by Mission Impossible and Harry Potter actor Sean Cronin and included director Sacha Bennet.
For Darlington, one former player Andy Toman, flew all the way from Norway to take part in the charity match.
Mr Hodgson thanked everybody for their support and said: “The day went well, everybody had a good time and quite a few of the celebrities turned up, some didn’t which always happens.
“But it was a good day, we made a lot of new friends and it was all very, very positive.”
Mr Hodgson said the event raised around £200 for the film but he said it was more about generating publicity for the project.
He said: “Everybody had a good time and we made a little bit of money which was great, but the bigger picture is that we got publicity on facebook and twitter an it has all been very positive really.”
Around £60,000 has already been pledged to help fund the film which is expected to enter production later this year.
It will explore how Mr Hodgson was left unable to move or speak in the years following his meningitis diagnosis and will shine a spotlight on how he made the best out of a bad situation.
Mr Hodgson said: “The film is coming along really well.
“We are about £40,000 short so we are going to have a massive push in the next few weeks to see if we can get the rest.
“We need to get it over the line and we have got a lot of support.”
Eighties chart-topper Toyah Wilcox is lined up to play Mr Hodgson’s mother and Waking The Dead’s Katie Sheridan will also star.
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