Burnley Football Club players visited patients at Pendleside Hospice this week as filming for a Sky documentary commences.
On Monday (April 22) Jay Rodriguez and Jack Cork came to the hospice to speak with patient and Clarets fan Fred Singleton.
Jay, a Pendleside Hospice ambassador, took a liking to Fred’s soft toy, a monkey called Jimmy Mac, which was dressed in its own claret and blue kit. Fred has owned the teddy for around 30 years.
Joey, Fred’s grandson, was also there to greet the players. He brought in a football for the players to sign.
Jay took the teddy with him to a training session and got a picture of the squad with the bear, before bringing it back to Fred.
A spokesperson for Pendleside Hospice said: “We welcomed Burnley Football Club players, Jay Rodriguez and Jack Cork to the hospice to speak with our patients.
“Jay took a liking to Fred's soft toy, a 30(odd)-year-old monkey called Jimmy Mac, who was ready and waiting in his claret and blue kit.
“Amazingly, Jay took it to a training session with him so that he could get a team shot and brought it back later on that day.”
The players were accompanied by a Sky film crew, who were filming series two of Mission to Burnley.
The first series aired last year and gave viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the club and its history.
A spokesperson for the hospice said: “With Jay being an ambassador for the Hospice, the film crew were keen to capture footage of Jay with some of the patients.
"We approached two patients on the in-patient unit, Gordon Hale and Frederick (Fred) Singleton, as they are both huge Burnley fans.
“Other patients and service users also had the opportunity to meet the players but didn't wish for their photos to be used.”
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