Lenin of the Rovers Melchester, the fictional home of Roy of the Rovers. In one episode, "The Fifth Man", the Cambridge Five spy scandal is mocked when Felchester plays Cambridge in the FA Cup and wins as a result of Cambridge players, including a mysterious fifth man, scoring own goals against their own team. Lenin of the Rovers ran for two series, each comprising four shows. The original scheduled broadcast dates of the final two episodes of series 2 were postponed due to coinciding with the Hillsborough disaster. The whole of series 2 was released by the BBC as a double-cassette set in 1992.
Roy of the Rovers sometimes recycled; during the first ten years of his playing career, Roy was kidnapped at least four times. Roy also made numerous appearances for England, depicted playing alongside actual players such as Malcolm Macdonald and Trevor Francis. The stock media phrase "real 'Roy of the Rovers' stuff" is often used by football writers, commentators and fans when describing displays of great skill, or surprising results that go against the odds, in reference to the dramatic storylines that were the strip's trademark. Roy of the Rovers first appeared on 11 September 1954, as a weekly feature in the comic magazine "Tiger",