By Emma Costigan
Copyright evoke
Fore! Wait, wrong sport… but the general principle still applies if you decide to play padel with Mr Donal Skehan.
For good reason, the competitive TV chef’s wife, Sofie, has ‘banned’ him from partaking in the popular activity as he sees the large racket as a means to release pent-up stress.
Speaking on the latest episode of his podcast with Arthur Gourounlian, Let’s Do This!, Donal admits his favourite part of the game is the ‘frying pan’-sized racket, which you use to ‘whack’ the ball.
One day, Donal and Sofie were playing padel with another couple in Sutton, and when he continued to hit the ball too forcefully, and it went shooting over the glass, she made the executive decision to stop him playing.
His podcast co-host Arthur insists padel is the new squash, and loves playing, particularly when he lived down in the K Club which he ‘misses’ dearly.
Elsewhere, Arthur pokes fun at Donal for having the worst man flu he’s ever had in his life, dragged into the Skehan household by his sons from school.
Donal is a pharmacy’s dream as he pulls out everything from tissues to Exputex, adding that he’s consuming healthy juices like nobody’s business in order to boost his immune system.
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Positive as always, Arthur believes that constantly telling yourself you’re sick makes you feel even more down in the dumps than you should, and encourages his best pal to… well, for lack of a better phrase, give over!
Sitting across the table from his pal in the DMG Media studios, Arthur’s wishing the two-metre social distancing rule from the Covid-19 pandemic days was still in place, while Donal jests that he’s going to climb over the table and ‘lick your face!’
All this and more on the latest episode of Let’s Do This!, because despite feeling under the weather, Donal can still match Arthur taunt for taunt!
Arthur and Donal: Let’s Do This! is available to listen to here or wherever you get your podcasts.
