Black footballers who transformed West Bromwich Albion fortunes in the 1970s are stars of new drama

Three Degrees, backed by Film4, follows Cyrille Regis, Brendon Batson and Laurie Cunningham, who transformed the fortunes of the team during the ‘winter of discontent’ – a period between November 1978 and February 1979 when the UK was hit with a series of mass strikes.

They are credited with helping break down barriers for Black and minority ethnic football players in England during a time of widespread racism in the game.

Clint Dyer is directing the film, with Roy Williams writing the screenplay and Dudley's Sir Lenny Henry attached as an executive producer.

Richard Holmes of Big Rich Films is producing, alongside Graham Silk of Truth Pictures.

Silk’s father was vice-chair of West Bromwich Albion during the 1970s, and Silk has brought on the last surviving member of the trio, Batson, as an executive producer on the project.

Cunningham died in a car crash in Madrid in 1989 aged just 33, and Regis died of a heart attack in 2018 at the age of 59.

Graham said: "It's one of those things where people will tell you, you should make a film out of this.

"So many people have said this in the past. We just decided we would do it.

"It's a film which talks about how three guys changed the perception of so many people.

"We still have a problem with racism in football but it's nowhere near as bad.

"We are looking forward to getting things moving now.

"It's going to be a feature film, rather than a documentary, and it's gone through a number of different drafts.

"Everything is based upon events that happened. It's a great story and it will be fully cast with professional actors.

"We are hoping to go into production next year."

Details of casting and filming locations are yet to be announced.

It is hoped that once completed, the feature film will be shown in cinemas with further discussions needed in the future.

Graham added: "I'd never met Laurie but I knew Cyrille well. Brendon I've known for a long time.

"He is very articulate and engaging. We were delighted to have him put his name to this."

Plucked from non-league Hayes in May 1977 by Ronnie Allen, Albion’s chief scout was so convinced by Regis, he famously stumped up the initial £5,000 out of his own pocket.

A month later, Allen was promoted to manager after Johnny Giles resigned and it wasn’t long until a 19-year-old Regis was making a big impact in the first team.

After scoring on his debut for the reserves, he was parachuted into the senior side at the end of August.

He bagged a brace on debut in a 4-0 win over Rotherham in the League Cup and three days later scored on his league debut in a 2-1 victory over Middlesbrough, running with the ball from the halfway line and into the box before unleashing a fierce shot.

Thanks to that stunning start, Regis became an immediate hit in the West Midlands, and quickly gained a cult hero status that would grow to iconic levels over the next seven years.

Cunningham made his debut at Tottenham in March 1977 and quickly established himself as one of the finest goalscoring wingers in English football.

Making an immediate impact at The Hawthorns, he created history when he, Brendon Batson and Cyrille Regis all started against Ipswich in 1978.

It was the first time three black players had ever started a league game.

The winger was superb when West Brom beat Man United 5-3 at Old Trafford in 1978. He then followed that up with yet another brilliant display when Albion held Valencia to a 1-1 draw in a UEFA Cup game in Spain.

And it was that display which alerted Real Madrid, with Cunningham joining the Spanish giants for a fee of £950,000 in 1979.

Meanwhile, Batson made 220 appearances for the Baggies between 1978 and 1984 as well as representing England’s B team three times.

He also helped to break down barriers when racism was rife in the game, during his time as a player as well as working with the Professional Footballers’ Association and a number of anti-racism organisations – including a stint as chairman of the Sporting Equals project, which is based in Birmingham.

In 2019, the former defender, who is now 69, was presented with the Sporting Equals Lifetime Achievement Award.