Hearts winger Josh Ginnelly admits he’s loving life in the Scottish capital following his summer move from Preston North End – and now he’s even made it to Hollywood.

After spending last season on loan at Tynecastle, Ginnelly made the switch to Hearts permanent this summer, eager to test himself in the Scottish Premier League.

And while a ruptured hamstring curtailed his season last year, which saw the Jam Tarts earn promotion back to the topflight of Scottish football, the 24-year-old winger is enjoying football, the fans and life in Edinburgh.

“I’d heard a lot of stories about the fans and the history behind the club but there’s only so much of that you can process until you experience it in the flesh for yourself,” explained Ginnelly, speaking to promote Succession Season 3, which is available to stream on NOW from 18th October with a new episode being released each week.

“I think it was the Celtic game at the start of the season where we had a crowd and that really took me by surprise with how intense and passionate the support was. It was good and an enjoyable memory.

“I was quite surprised by Edinburgh Castle when I moved up.

“That was quite cool when I made the move so I’d probably have to say that as one of my favourite parts of Edinburgh.

“I’m enjoying myself here.”

Hollywood has hit the streets of Edinburgh, with Ginnelly’s Hearts playing the most unlikely of starring roles.

To celebrate the return of season 3 of hit-show Succession, streaming service NOW is bringing a slice of the Roy family’s dysfunctionality to the UK, with a Succession-inspired football ‘takeover’ in Edinburgh.

In season two of the hit show, Roman Roy (played by Kieran Culkin) buys the Scottish football club Hearts to impress his father Logan (Brian Cox), only to awkwardly discover that his billionaire dad is a fan of Edinburgh-rivals Hibernian.

A fan of Succession; Ginnelly was thrilled when fiction became reality last week, with HBO and streaming service NOW reaching out to Hearts to see if they could collaborate.

NOW and Hearts were celebrating Roman Roy’s fictional takeover of the team, with the name of the family’s infamous company Waystar Royco added to the front of Hearts’ iconic maroon home shirts as well as on branding within the club’s Tynecastle stadium.

The limited-edition Succession-inspired shirts were unveiled at Tynecastle by Robbie Neilson and players John Souttar, Ben Woodburn, Stephen Kingsley, and Beni Baningime.

“In terms of Succession and Hearts and Hibs, I have to admit I’ve not watched it but that is going to change after being involved with the show and the new shirts,” added Ginnelly.

“But I’m definitely going to give it a go now and see what all the fuss is about – it sounds like a fantastic show.

“The derby between Hearts and Hibs is a big game. It’s a massive game for the whole city. They’re mad the fans. Obviously, we wanted to get the win but unfortunately, we couldn’t.

“Even though I’ve only been here a short time, I know what goes on with the derby and what’s riding on it. It’s a massive game.”

Hillingdon Times:

The partnership with Hearts stands out as a world-first – the first-time ever that the front of a major professional football shirt has been sponsored by a fictional company.

In keeping with the Roy family’s love of all things exclusive, only 100 of the Waystar-branded shirts have been created meaning the only way to join the exclusive ownership club is by entering a special giveaway on NOW’s Instagram page.

Jamie Schwartz, Director of Brand, Marketing and Merchandising at NOW said: “We want as many people as possible to enjoy amazing, critically-acclaimed shows like the Succession on NOW and this partnership with Hearts F.C. is a great way of celebrating the show in a way that fans will love and that also raises awareness of this must-watch content among a completely new audience.”

Chief Executive of Hearts Andrew McKinley commented: “As huge fans of the show, we’re really excited to be working with NOW to bring this Succession takeover to Tynecastle. We love watching the Hearts-related storylines in the show, although we’re quite thankful not to have any members of the Roy family running the club in real life.”

Succession Season 3 is available to stream on NOW from 18th October with a new episode being released each week. You can watch the new season and catch up on Seasons 1 and 2 of Succession on the NOW Entertainment Membership and for your chance to win one of these highly sought-after Hearts shirts, keep your eyes peeled to NOW’s Instagram page today.