ROB McELHENNEY and Ryan Reynolds weren’t at The Racecourse for part two of Wrexham’s promotion party but they were kicking every ball while doing their day job back home in America.

Twelve months earlier the Hollywood pair were out on the pitch lifting the National League title after 15 years of slumming it in non-league football.

But filming duties denied them the opportunity to witness more magical moments in a footballing fairytale that is going - ‘mind-bogginingly’ global, just like they said it would when they first took over the club in 2021.

“They would have loved to have been there,” revealed Reds’ executive director Humphrey Ker, the man who first prodded McElhenney into taking an interest in football this side of the pond.

Ker did join in the on-the-pitch after-match celebrations as Wrexham secured promotion in some style, thrashing Forest Green Rovers 6-0 last month.

“Ryan was filming and so was Rob but they would have loved to have been there to celebrate another promotion,” said Ker.

“But our group chat was busy and Shaun Harvey was up-dating the group with all the scores.

“First Rob came on and saw the score and said: ‘Yes, yes!’ and then there was a huge silence before Ryan came on when it was 6-0.

“Then Rob appears again just minutes before the final whistle when all the results have obviously gone our way. And you can imagine their delight.

“It was all about taking care of our business and although we’d built up this huge lead, I didn’t look at my phone.

“But that changed when I got a feel of what was happening around the stands and then I saw on my phone that Mansfield and Gillingham were both three goals up.

“That’s when it really snuck up on me that: Yes, we’re going to do it!

“It was a big thing for us. We were confident and, yes, we’ve spent a lot of money to achieve it.

“You can understand why there’s some criticism from fans of other clubs that we’ve paid out to win promotion.

“Everyone would love the sporting purity of getting promoted without spending money but that very rarely happens.

“Look at Stockport, they’ve spent a lot of cash to get promotion out of the National League and now into League One.

“The expectations have been on us since day one but I believe they will be even greater in League One.”

Ker, who was the famous Hollywood duo’s eyes and ears when they first took over from the Wrexham Supporters Trust, can feel well pleased with the part he has played in making all the Wrexham supporters’ dreams come true.

He has become a cult hero with Reds’ fans at home and all over the world as the ‘The Welcome To Wrexham’ documentary goes from strength-to-strength.

Ker’s first appearance in the documentary was meeting former boss Dean Keates and the players and he admitted: “Coming into a football club environment can not be terribly welcoming.

“People sensed that change is coming and sometimes it’s not always going to be for the better.

“But Dean and the players early on were always incredibly nice and made me feel welcome.”

Not gaining promotion that first season hurt badly, but Ker put a positive spin on it, saying that it possibly boosted audience figures in America because there wasn’t a winning end to the story.

“The documentary was probably 10 times better for the audience because we lost in season one,” he said.

“I got loads of texts from friends of mine, saying how the show blew their minds only to then be shocked at the end because we lost.

“Obviously, Rob and Ryan were part of the success of the documentary and they have drawn people in who wouldn’t normally watch a football documentary.”

Part three of the documentary started to air this month and there could be many more stories to unfold in a drama that has gripped everyone who wants to know much, much more about Wrexham Football Club.

It was in Covid-times that Ker first recommended that sport-mad McElhenney watch the ‘Sunderland Till I Die’ documentary.

What’s happened on and off the pitch since has been remarkable, memorable, and, sometimes unbelievable.

“We were always hopeful of it being a success,” added Ker.

“We needed to get the fans behind us and then find the right people to get things done.

“Then Ryan came on board and that changed the resources we had. It really super-changed us.

“He sees this as a way of doing that on a grand scale, almost supercharging what he has always done. That’s what got him into this at the start. Rob loved that but saw the sporting side as an attraction as well.”

The love-affair between the fans and the owners grows stronger day by day.

“It is always such a thrill coming over here,” said Ker. “I am here a bit more than Rob and Ryan but we don’t get to come as much as we would like.

“It is a great opportunity to come and meet people and have a chat.

“There’s a lot of amazing stuff going on here that either we are part of or we want to be more part of.

“That was the thing that attracted them in the first place. The thing that brought them to Wrexham was the community as much as the team so we have got to give them both the same due.”

Wrexham supporters and the community as a whole have taken to the co-owers and it is not lost on the owners.

“We all feel very appreciated,” said Ker. “It is just nice to see people, nice to shake hands.

“Everyone has been so welcoming to us so it is great.

“If Rob and Ryan had their way, they would be here every week.

“Unfortunately, they have to go to the day job and the same for me!”