Mark Wright signs for Crawley Town as Only Way is Essex star makes football return

Reality television star Mark Wright has returned to professional football with former club Crawley Town.

The League Two outfit announced on Monday that Wright - a TV personality, Heart FM radio presenter and Soccer Aid regular best known for being one of the stars of ‘The Only Way Is Essex’ - had signed on a non-contract basis after a successful two-month trial that included an appearance in a behind-the-scenes friendly against Reading in November.

33-year-old Wright - whose younger brother Josh plays for Leyton Orient - spent time with Tottenham, Arsenal, West Ham and Southend as a youngster and played for the likes of Lewes and Rushden & Diamonds at non-league level.

He was also on the books at Grays Athletic and had a spell on loan at Crawley during the 2006/07 season, featuring nine times and scoring a crucial winning goal against Tamworth as the club secured survival in the National League.

John Yems was in charge of Crawley that season and returned to the Sussex club for a second spell in charge in December 2019.

“For 11 years since I fully retired from serious football I’ve missed it every day,” Wright told his 1.7 million followers on Instagram.

"My life took a complete U-turn when I was 22 and it’s been the best 10.5 years I could have ever dreamed of but my love for the game has never gone away and the fact that I never played a professional game in the Football League has always niggled away at me.

“If I don’t do it now, I never will and at 33, reaching the older side of a professional footballer... it has to be now.”

Crawley are currently 13th in the fourth tier after winning six of their opening 17 matches in 2020/21 and host Bradford City on Tuesday night before travelling to Leyton Orient this weekend.