Football legend Ian Wright pays surprise visit to Lioness star's Greater Manchester cafe

The "North's favourite Southerner" paid a visit to the popular Greater Manchester cafe

Dianne Bourne Lifestyle Editor

17:22, 17 Jan 2025

England legend Ian Wright pictured at Boxx 2 Boxx cafe with Lioness Jill Scott and Shelly Unitt(Image: Instagram/@Boxx2Boxx)

England football legends united in Greater Manchester as Ian Wright paid a surprise visit to the popular cafe owned by Lioness star Jill Scott.

England and Arsenal legend Wrighty was pictured as he visited the Boxx2Boxx coffee shop on Palatine Road in Northenden on Friday. The venue is owned by Lioness and I'm a Celebrity star Jill and her partner Shelly Unitt.

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The pair have owned the venue since 2021 but relocated to a new site further down the road last year due to customer demand and high praise for their coffee.

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More than double in size, the new café continues the previous site's football-themed aesthetic with a mural of England star Jill on the wall, alongside other football memorabilia and artwork.

Posting on Instagram on Friday (January 17), Jill and Shelly shared a photo alongside Ian in the café. And it appears the visit was a surprise to them - as they wrote in the social media post: "You just never know who’s going to walk in @boxx2boxxcoffee. @wrightyofficial".

Shelly and Jill said they want to ensure the cafe remains as commuity focused as it has always been

Shelly and Jill at their Boxx 2 Boxx cafe(Image: Boxx2Boxx)

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Ian was seen beaming in the photo as he held a cup of coffee, and was dressed in a signature stylish ensemble of rolled up jeans, loafers and beanie hat.

Followers were pretty impressed by the celebrity visit and said as much in their comments on the Instagram post which has swiftly racked up the likes.

Lumberjackchoirboy wrote: "Legend Wrighty! Ah gutted I wish I could have bumped into him and said hi! Love that guy."

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"The North's favourite Southerner" Ian Wright was spotted at Jill Scott's cafe(Image: Instagram/@Boxx2Boxx)

Raeraewilsh said: "Love @wrightyofficial The North's favourite Southerner." Meanwhile Denwhasheeny joked: "Hope Ian Wright, Wright Wright...paid Three, Three, Three times".

Last year the cafe was visited by another England legend when Jamie Redknapp popped in to see them.

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Posting about that visit at the time they wrote: “We’ve had coffee in Italy, France and Mexico together but we had to get this legend into Boxx2boxx to try the real deal! Thanks for popping in Jamie!”

Jamie Redknapp has visited Jill Scott's cafe in Northenden

Jamie Redknapp has visited Jill Scott's café in Northenden(Image: Boxx2Boxx/Instagram: @boxx2boxxcoffee)

England and Man City star Phil Foden has also been pictured popping in for a brew too.

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Besides being known for its good coffee, the café is regularly visited by football fans - with some people travelling from as far as Australia and Hong Kong to say they’ve been to Jill Scott’s own coffee shop.

“It’s brilliant that people want to travel that far to see us,” Shelly said. “Jill’s in the shop quite a lot - it’s not like we just have a shop in our names, we often work here too.”

Boxx2Boxx is on 399 Palatine Road, Northenden M22 4JS. Open 9am to 4pm Tuesday to Saturday and 10am to 4pm on Sunday.