How life of Accrington Stanley ad child star Kevin Spaine spiralled into drugs and crime

Within 10 years of appearing in a famous television commercial which catapulted  Accrington Stanley FC into the public eye, child star Kevin Spaine found himself before the courts.

His co-star Carl Rice was busy booking other roles and is still a working actor today, most recently landing a role on Disney’s Cruella alongside Emma Stone, but Spaine,  who uttered the iconic line ‘Accrington Stanley, who are they?’ was in and out of trouble with the law, culminating today as he was jailed for life for murder.

The now 43-year-old Spaine was convicted of murder in Liverpool Crown Court this week and handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 18 years for a brutal assault at a ‘drug den’ flat in Anfield on July 27, 2022.

It’s the latest addition to a lengthy rap sheet which spans two decades, with almost 100 offences and 40 court appearances since 1999.

He repeatedly punched and kicked Learoy Venner with such force a post-mortem determined it was ‘the sort of trauma usually associated with a car crash’.

Mr Venner had been living at the address temporarily, sleeping on a camp bed set up in the lounge room. The property was ‘being used as a drug den’ and Spaine was a frequent visitor. 

He tried to claim he’d attacked Mr Venner in an act of ‘self-defence’ – an excuse  Judge Brian Cummings KC dismissed.

‘You have shown yourself to be a shocking liar,’ the judge said.

The court heard Spaine’s convictions over the 24-year period range from dealing heroin and crack cocaine to wounding and assault with intent to rob.

At the time, Spaine was a young adult in his early 20s. Just 10 years prior to first landing in court, he appeared in the beloved advertisement alongside performer Carl Rice.

John Harrison KC, appearing on behalf of Spaine, told the court:  ‘This defendant’s life has been ruined and dominated by the abuse of illegal drugs. 

‘He has a very long history of criminal offending.

‘We know he’s been in this situation for 20 years or more, but he wasn’t always like that. Mr Spaine was a very promising young footballer, and he appeared in a very famous advertisement on the television – an advert for milk involving Accrington Stanley.

‘He played a part in that advertisement. At an age of 10 or 12, or however old he was, he had a promising future. Shortly afterwards, he sinks into a life of criminality. Twenty years later, he is convicted of murder.

‘It’s not an unfamiliar spiral to the court, but it is a tragic one. Of course, he respects the jury’s verdict.’

Spaine was one of two boys seen in the famous television ad for the Milk Marketing Board in 1989, both clad in Liverpool kits.

He is only briefly seen on camera, walking through the shot before it focusses on his co-star Carl Rice besides a fridge in the kitchen. The defendant says ‘have you got any lemonade?’, to which the other junior footballer replies: ‘If you want.’

As he pours himself a glass of milk, Spaine says: ‘Milk? Eurgh.’

His friend tells him: ‘It’s what Ian Rush drinks. He said if I don’t drink lots of milk, when I grow up I’m only going to be good enough to play for Accrington Stanley.’

Spaine then delivers the familiar line ‘Accrington Stanley, who are they?’ to a young Mr Rice.

Mr Rice, who has gone to a successful career on screen including roles in Coronation Street and Brassic, answers ‘exactly’. 

Spaine’s role in the TV advert had until now been incorrectly credited to ‘Kevin Staine’.

The advertisement earned the relatively unknown football club £10,000 and did wonders for brand recognition during the six-year run.

And Mr Rice went on to find further success on screen and within the league, reprising his role for future appearances, landing a small role on Shameless and most recently featuring in Disney’s Cruella alongside Emma Stone and Emma Thompson.

All the while, Spaine’s life was spiralling, and he was never publicly connected to the project.  

A trial previously heard that Mr Venner had been living at the crime scene address temporarily at the time of the incident on July 27, 2022, sleeping on a camp bed in the lounge.

Spaine was refused entry by the victim shortly after midday on the day in question.

He was eventually let in by returning tenant Mark Kelly, who then left again in order to top up the electricity meter.

It was at this point that Mr Venner was fatally assaulted, with Spaine leaving him lying unconscious and going to his mum’s house to change his clothes afterwards.

He was arrested on suspicion of murder on that evening, at which point he responded: ‘That’s a big charge, what do you mean murder?’

Sentencing this morning, Judge Brian Cummings KC said: ‘Only you will know the detail of what happened in the flat at that time. You have shown yourself to be a shocking liar.’

He said there was ‘no element of self-defence’ in the attack on Mr Venner, noting he could not have posed a threat to Spaine.

‘I am sure you struck him multiple heavy punches to the face and then finished your attack by kicking him, probably more than once and with force. What precisely caused you to want to do all of this will never be known to anyone other than yourself.

‘You were very insistent of wanting to get into the flat. I am sure your interest in gaining entry to the flat was because you hoped to get either drugs or money – probably, you were disappointed in that hope.

‘I do not find this was a murder for gain. However I am sure when you gained access to the flat, having been kept hanging around, those things led you to launch a ferocious attack upon him.

‘He had no chance of escaping you or fighting you off. You attacked and killed a man whom you knew to be weak and in poor health.

‘I accept that the eruption of violence occurred spontaneously, albeit you were in an agitated state having regard to the fact you’d been kept waiting outside. You left him unconscious on his back and breathing in his own blood for something like half an hour before he actually died.’